Lost
by Raiden312
Summary: The future is built upon the past, as well as the actions of the present. But what happens when something unexpected appears and ruins everything? Either by fate or chance the path that once was taken is changed. For good or for ill, it will be interesting...to watch it unfold...let's begin shall we. *Remake is out.*
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, as it belongs to it's respected owners.**

* * *

Cold.

I feel cold.

Ugh…did my blanket fell off in my sleep?

Wet.

I also feel wet.

Did I drool in my sleep again? Damn it I haven't done that since I was three. Well there's no point in thinking about it. Come on time to get up.

My eyelids slowly slid open, ugh it's so bright is my window open? Why would it be open...

Blinking away the bright lights, my vision slowly comes back into focus. I was greeted by the sight of snow.

Wait snow, trees…there are trees here...around me.

Why are trees here?

Shaking my head, I place my hand against my forehead. It felt cold due to some of the snow that stuck to my fingers.

Is this a dream?

Biting my lip, pain slowly travels through my body. I progressively bite harder, increasing the pain till it forced me to stop or I'd completely tear into the skin.

Well that hurt, and I'm still here, so either I'm in some lucid experience or this is not a dream. This is real...

"Okay, just where the hell, am I!" My screams echo through the trees, scaring a few birds off their branches.

I take a sharp intake of breath. Need to calm down. Can't panic, don't panic, don't panic. Have to stay calm, breath in, breath out, in and out.

Sighing as I got up, okay your awake and alone in an unknown forest for who knows why.

Stay calm, check your surroundings, and then wing it from there. But first check what you got on your person, cause it feels like your not wearing pajamas.

Holding my hands out I stare at what I was wearing.

This is weird...I'm wearing a black jacket, grey shirt, dark pants, and black boots. Simple clothes I do own but don't remember even having them when I was asleep. Guess it's better then waking up in my pajamas, alright check the pockets. There might be something useful in them...

I rifled through the pockets and found a couple of mechanical pencils, with a few lead containers in one pocket. The other had a small pocket journal.

Well that's odd, my phone and wallet are missing. Doubt it would've help much since I'm in an ocean of trees, likely no signal to be found. Though it'll probably be a problem without my wallet, then no one will identify the body.

Morbid thought aside, I'm alone without a phone and means of presenting my identity nor have any currency. Which would not help if I need them...

Great, wonder if there's anything in the journal, wouldn't hurt to look. Flipping open the journal, I rapidly flip each page.

Blank, blank, nope, nada.

I sighed as I put away the journal then rubbed my head.

Great there's nothing to indicate where I am.

Looking up I see that the sun was high above the trees, and I have no idea how to tell time with just the sun alone.

Damn it, I guess I have to start walking, which way is North as well as, West, East, and South?

* * *

"Crap, crap, crap," I trip on a loose branch, "Ow...damn it."

It has been about, oh I don't know, an hour or so since I started walking in the cold dense forest. The snow is thick, about a foot deep, so it makes it difficult to walk in. Plus it doesn't help that I trip on a random tree branch or trunk every few minutes.

Damn it...just where the hell am I?

It's snowy, so obliviously somewhere it snows a lot. So either as far north as Alaska or somewhere else entirely...maybe Greenland.

I've never been anywhere that snows before, so nothing to reference it to. So for I all know I could actually be in Alaska or something, don't why specifically Alaska.

Ugh, come on think what can be used to guess where I am?

The trees...they're...brown and...white? With some of them being green due to some leaves...okay I don't know anything that help tell where I am.

Who the hell wakes up in the middle of a forest anyway!? Ah forget it, thinking on it, or mentally yelling won't get me anywhere. Have to keep moving before it gets dark.

Hopefully I can find a highway, cabin, camp or something that can help me. Or else I'll freeze while trying to eat berries...or bark if desperate.

Slowly picking myself up, I kept stomping along.

Eventually I reach a little hill then climbed to look over it. Nothing but more trees and blankets of snow...

Have to keep moving, burning daylight here. Jumping over the hill before landing on the ground below, I grunted and continued on.

One thing kinda bothers me, the air feels different, sure I'm possibly nowhere near any form of civilization, but still…it feels fresher somehow, more cleaner then when I was at home.

I shook my head, focus on getting home don't start going all environmental.

Sighing as I kept walking, I rubbed my head.

Wonder how everyone is back home, do they know I'm missing? Or is this some sort of ploy, a prank of sorts. Maybe I was taken then dumped in the ass end of nowhere?

No, either of those can't be it, none make any sense at all. So how exactly am I-

The air became foul, making me stop in my tracks. I gagged as I tried to cover my nose, only that it didn't stop the sudden barrage. My eyes begin to water as I feel them stinging.

What, what the hell is this smell!?

It's...horrible, like something died. It feels like I can practically taste rotten filth. I'm gonna puck...no don't want to do that. Need to step back right now!

Looking around for the source of the smell as I backed away.

There's nothing visible here causing that. It must be nearby though, an animal kill left out in the open?

Looking up, there weren't any birds flying around. So if it is a carcass it must be rotten, but no birds.

Something is obviously wrong...this smell...it feels **_wrong._**

I need to-

_Snap_.

Huh? What was-

_Crunch. Snap. Crunch. _

Those noises, its close, really close.

_Snap. Crunch_.

It sounds like some kind of large animal. Deer? No it's too loud, bear?

Last I check it was close to spring. Bears might be already coming out of hibernation, and they'll be hungry. Damn it, have to get away or go around, I don't want to be bear food.

Crouching low to the ground, I move away slowly from the direction of the noises.

Easy now, don't make too much noise. Have to go nice and easy_._

_Snap. Crunch. Crunch. Snap. _

Um, the sounds and whatever is making them is coming closer. Crap...

Crap, crap, crap, why is it following me?

Moving a little bit further away and the noises seem to follow, as well as the smell.

Damn it, if it's some kind of animal, I don't want to be eaten. Though could it be a person...who hasn't bathed at all...

Screw it...if it moves any closer, I'll run regardless of it is.

_Snap. Crunch!_

Shit! That was close, dammit run, need to run.

I scrambled to move past the trees and further through the forest.

The thick cold snow felt normal compared to my increasingly warm body.

Which each footstep I hear every crunch of what was behind me. My breath rose, becoming louder and louder as my feeling of panic increased.

Whatever was behind me seemed to take notice and was closing in.

I continued to run until my foot work became sloppy, then fall to the ground on my knees. I pant as I tried to hold myself up, as another crunch and snap was heard. I forced myself to crawl before slowly getting up.

_Crunch! _

Damn it, it's right behind me!

I can't see it, need to keep moving!

Need to-

Something hits a tree right next to me, causing me to fall.

I quickly get up and looked then widen my eyes in shock.

What the...there's an axe in the tree, there's a freaking axe in the tree! Slowly I looked in the direction it was thrown in, and see a person standing there.

Only that this said 'person', had darkened rotten skin, ruined pieces of leather literally being held together by strings acting as clothes. Disfigured jaw, missing teeth, and with empty glowing eyes. It's eyes were glowing a dark shade of purple that seemed to be piercing right through me.

It's the source of that unbearable smell!

My heart raced in panic as I stared at the figure in front of me. It can't be...it's...

Risen...was the only word that came to me to describe this thing. An undead creature...a monster that kills those that aren't like it.

And it was right in front of me with another ax on hand.

How, why, what the-

The Risen roared as it raised it's ax in a threatening manner. It eyes seemed to glowed darker as they narrowed.

It has another axe, crap, have to run.

My legs didn't respond, as I just stared at the thing before me.

Damn it move, it's walking towards you, move damn it! Nothing happens, I'm paralyzed in fear!

The Risen slowly walks toward me, it traverses through the snow, getting ever so closer to me.

Come on move damn it! My body still won't move...

Dammit I don't want to die! Move, move, MOVE!

By either adrenaline rushing in my veins, or out of fear and shock my legs finally gave in. I dashed as fast as I could in the opposite direction of the...Risen!

The snow was becoming less thick, which meant that I could move faster.

Can't waste this chance, have to keep running, maybe find a place to hide!

Hide...from a Risen, a fucking Risen for goodness sake! This doesn't make any sense...fuck!

How the hell is one here!?

The only place it should exist is in...Fire Emblem. _FIRE EMBLEM_...wait waking up in a middle of a forest, no memory of how it happened, and an encounter with a Risen. This adds up to...no that can't be it. Of all things, please don't let it be that...

I jump over a couple of dead branches, I quickly look back, and the Risen is not there. Did I lose it!?

Slowing to a jog then stopping and pressing against a tree. Panting, I glance behind me one more time.

No, it's probably still behind me, I can still smell it.

I slowly look at my surroundings, nothing but trees, but the snow is becoming less thick. That's good, it will make it easier for me to move. Though it will be the same for that corpse behind me, dammit.

Sighing as I cautiously started walking through the less snowy areas.

Have to be careful, don't want to give away my position...

_Snap. _

Shit! That came from behind me, how is it following me?

I sprint through the thick forest again, but my speed was slower than before.

The noises behind me became louder as they approach. Dammit, can't keep this up I'm already getting tired. If I don't do something soon...I could-

I trip on a dead branch, and painfully twist my ankle.

"Aaahhh!" The sheer pain made me scream my lungs out. "Damn...it!"

I looked at my ankle, and felt like screaming again. It's either sprained or broken really badly, can't even move my foot. Crap probably broken then...

I try to crawl, but stop, the pain was too much. I grumble and bite my lips as tears form around my eyes.

_Crunch. _

Crap, looking behind me, and there it was.

The Risen was right there, holding its ax. It's horrible smell still lingering with it, adding disgust with my pain with hose piercing glowing eyes.

I try to crawl again, desperate to get away. Clawing at nothing but dirt and snow.

The Risen easily caught up with me, it was right over me. It gave a low growl before slowly raising it's ax.

I closed my eyes and raised my arms in a desperate flinch, not wanting to see it coming. Dammit...this can't be real...why is happening...why...why!?

No...no...I don't want to die...not like this!

_Chink_.

"Raahhh!"

Huh?

I slowly open my eyes. The Risen still had its axe raised, it moves its head down, my eyes following it...

Holy shit!

There's a sword sticking out of its chest, a freaking sword! Then said sword moves upward, effortlessly cutting the Risen in two. Killing it instantly...

The thing begins to crumbles then somehow turns into purple colored smoke.

As the smoke dissipates, slowly revealing what I hoped was my savior.

My eyes widen at the sight before me.

It was a woman, with dark blue hair. Wearing dark blue clothes, with a cape attached. A familiar mask was covering most of her face. Her sword looked familiar as well, it looks like...wait.

It can't be...blue clothes, cape, an ancient sword with a mask to hide her identity. It's Lucina!

Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening! How...how is she here!?

Unless...it's as I thought before, I'm no longer home or anywhere on Earth, because I am in another realm, another world, the world of Fire Emblem.

I'm so screwed!

I stare at the female hero as she slowly lowers her sword then approaches me.

"Are you alright?" She asks, her voice sounded forced, like it's deeper than it should be. Oh, she's pretending to be a boy, right...forgot about that.

"I...My ankle hurts, I think it's broken." I say, trying to sit up, and then get pushed back down by Lucina.

"Lie still," She says, her tone sounded gentle yet strict.

Doing as ordered, I lay down on the ground, my eyes never leaving the hero. The masked woman raises her sword, letting me see it as the actual Falchion.

Why the hell does it have a giant hole acting as a hilt guard? Isn't that a bit counterproductive?

I push the thought away as Lucina holds the sword close to herself. The air started to feel lighter then the blade started to glow, along with Lucina, covering her in a bright light. She somehow directs this light towards me, and my pain slowly started to subside. The light, or energy I think, felt calming, like it was coating itself around me.

Is this what magic feels like? It feels right somehow, I can't explain it. There's nothing akin to malice...just...this rightly feel. Is it because of...

"Move your leg," She instructs, as she puts her Falchion back in its sheath. I did what I was told, my ankle did feel a whole lot better. There was no pain or soreness, like I didn't get hurt at all. But I still feel tired...

Okay...an actual fictional character is in front of you...have to pay this carefully...

"W-was that magic?" I asked as I pulled myself up. Lucina simply stared at me, not answering anything.

Okay, let's ask the simple questions then.

"Who are you, exactly?" I ask, feeling nervous. Really don't want her to turn that blade on for any reason...

Lucina stares at me quietly, "You may call me Marth."

Heh...that was an expected answer, alright have to play along for now. She can help me...hopefully.

"Marth, eh? That's an interesting name for someone to have." I say before slowly crossing my arms, "By the way Miss, do you know where we are? I'm a...little lost, not exactly in familiar lands so to speak."

The masked princess stays silent, and turns away.

"That doesn't matter right now," Her voice becomes lighter sounding more natural. I guess there's no point for her to sound like a man, but I'll have to call her Marth. That sucks though, her real name sounds so much better off the tongue.

"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to move the conversation along.

"There are more Risen in these woods." Huh?

"Wait, Risen? Is that was what that thing was? There are more of them!?" Lucina nods, then motioned me to follow her.

"It's not safe here," She explains "Follow me and I'll explain when we are safe."

I nodded, "Right lead the way."

* * *

"This way," Lucina says as we approached a river.

It's been a few minutes since I encountered her. And despite my calm exterior, I'm torn between panicking like a child or freak out, like some fan-girl. Because I have met Lucina, _the _Lucina, the future blue-haired princess who travels back in time to stop a horrible future. By stopping an asshole of a dragon, that has some serious issues, alongside her father who has a sword made from another dragon's tooth.

Of all the people to end up here in this world, it had to be me. Damn my shitty luck.

Still makes me wonder, if Grima really is as massive as he seemed in the game. How well would he fight against Godzilla? Hey, it's a serious question, who wouldn't wonder if that no barrel rolling dragon can take on the king of monsters? Dammit, should have wrote a fic on that, I'm pretty sure Godzilla will win hands down.

Wait, why am I thinking on that!? Of course the King of the Kaijus will win!

Distracted thoughts aside, this is really...weird and obviously unexpected. If I am in Fire Emblem, with recent evidence very convincing, then how and why am I here?

Dammit, should think on that later...just follow the princess and see if I can get any help. Directions, location and food and shelter if possible...don't want to be picky since she did save my life but I rather not freeze and starve.

Eventually Lucina stops at a waterfall, huh didn't even notice it.

"Through here," She says as she walked towards the waterfall. Do we have to go through it? But I don't want to get wet, it's freaking cold out here.

The masked woman, stops just before the falls, she moves around the water and disappears into the falls.

Oh, a passage way to a hidden cave in the waterfall, how cliché. Actually kinda cool though...

Following in after her, I enter the cave it was kinda small, but large enough to move around in. There was an active fire pit, with a bedroll to the side, and a sheathed sword on it. This cave is small, hidden from view and easy to get to, not bad for this girl rather impressive.

But still, she came here like she's already been here before, sure evidence of her campsite is right in front of me. Though I get the feeling she might of known of this place before hand, back in her future. Meh, just a speculative theory nothing more, maybe I'll ask some other time.

"Nice campsite." I comment as I sit myself down by the fire pit. Then place my hands over it...

Ah, thank goodness it's so waaarrrmmmm.

Lucina stays quiet as she sat down on the opposite side, facing me.

It became quiet, the only sounds came from the warm fire pit, it felt awkward.

"So," I say, breaking the silence, "Can you explain where we are?"

Lucina nods "We're in Regna Ferox, west of the western capital."

My eyes widen at her words, "Regna Ferox? I knew we were north, but I didn't think it was this far north."

The masked princess stays quiet, okay have to be careful in what I say from now on. Have to make a background.

"Anyway, Marth, thanks for saving me from that thing you called...a Risen, right? I thought I was dead back there."

She still stays quiet. Okay, talk about silent protagonist.

"Can you explain what that thing is exactly? It looked like a walking corpse..." I muttered feigning ignorance.

Lucina visibly cringed a little at my words, crap asked a sore subject, shouldn't have done that.

"They...are dead bodies resurrected by a dark and evil power." She bitterly says, there were hints of something in her voice. "Husks without a soul."

"Are they common place in these lands?" I asked, knowing the answer anyway. "I've never...seen them before."

"No, they are not." The future princess shakes her head.

And with that it becomes silent again.

Dammit, should have asked something else, I didn't want to cause any involuntary memories to resurface. This girl has been through too much if I remember correctly, more than any person should.

Plus that might determine whether or not she'll still help...need to-

"What is your name?" Lucina asks, catching me off guard.

"Huh?"

She looks at me seriously, if you can look serious with a mask on. Apparently she can...

"Your name, what is it?" She says neutrally.

I reactively gulped. Crap, don't want to use my real one, come on think of something!

"Um...it's Leon...Leon Strife." Lucina nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer.

Oh great, you just gave her a name based off two different Final Fantasy characters, way to go dumbass. Why didn't I use my real one, it be simpler, dammit can't back out now or she may become suspicious of me. And I can't have that, I want to seem trustworthy.

"So Marth, how did you manage to find me?" I blurt out. Lucina silently stares at me, then sighs.

"I was nearby hunting, when I heard someone scream." She says, and becomes silent.

Is that it, was I just simply saved by my screams? Well, I guess that's a good thing...though why is she-

"Why are you here?" The masked princess asks, interrupting my thoughts. "Are you traveling somewhere? You did say you weren't in familiar lands."

Crap she's getting curious, damn think.

"Oh, um I was headed to Ylisse, I wanted to see its capital, but all I remember was falling asleep at some Inn far East of here. Then somehow wake up here in these woods." I say almost too quickly, damn have to stay calm, can't act nervous or she may suspect something. "Heh, guess I somehow made it to Regna Ferox..."

"Where are you exactly from?" She asks. Is she really playing 20 questions with me?

"...Far to the East, that's all I want say if you don't mind." Lucina becomes silent. Seconds passed or was it minutes, I can't tell because of the tense stare off ensuing between me and her.

Finally she sighs and gets up from her spot.

"It will be dark soon, get some rest. We'll talk in the morning." She simply says as she moves towards the entrance.

"Wait, what about you?" I asked, not wanting her to leave. Hey, she's pretty much my only chance of survival here!

"I'll be on watch." She says, "Get some rest." She steps out before I could protest.

One second, two seconds, three, four, five...and I think she's gone.

Dammit, I looked around the cave once more. Sighing before getting up, I walked toward the bedroll.

What a long day, I wake up in a snowy forest, get chased by some freaking zombie, and end up getting saved by a princess from a desolate future. Yeah, what a long shitty day indeed.

I guess I should do as she says and get some rest. But what then, I'm in another world, what the hell should I do?

Follow the storyline, beat the game and live here for the rest of my life, like some over rated Fan fiction? Stick around and try to change the events for better or worse like a saint or monster? Or screw all of this I want to survive and go home option?

Dammit, why the hell am I even thinking this! I am not a hero, nor am I a coward. I'm just some human being that exists. I don't hold dreams to truly change the world, or desires for anything else. I gripped my head in frustration. Damn it I'm over thinking it, Lucina was right I should get some rest. I'll think on this tomorrow.

I should probably not use the bedroll as it's the princess', she may be kind but I doubt she that kind. Besides I slept in worse places, a rocky surface of a cave ain't much.

"Raaahh!"

What...that came from outside...

"Raaaahhh!"

Shit...that was closer than the last one, and those noises don't sound like any kind of animal I ever heard before.

Fuck...it might be Risen...Lucina may need some help. Wait why did I think that and what the hell can I do anyway? Stab them in the eye with a mechanical pencil? That might work if they were people, but not if they are undead freaks. Unless...

I looked down at the sheathed sword on the bedroll, no don't even think about it. Don't think about grabbing that damn sword and go charging out there like a wannabe hero of time. Besides I don't even know how to use a sword.

Games, movies and anime don't actually help with this...

I'll get myself killed along with Lucina, and this world will be screwed...

Despite my arguing thoughts, I grabbed the blade and slide it out of its sheath. Huh, it's a rapier, at least what it's called in the game only real.

It's sharp and lightweight blade gleams from the fire's light. I tilt it around a little, the blade shows off my reflection. Revealing dark brown eyes expressing the fear present within them.

Sighing as I experimented a few swings and strikes. I held the handle more firmly after it felt like it would almost slip off my hand.

Well...I may not know how to use a blade, but no time like the present to learn. Besides that damn princess saved my life, and there's no way in hell I'll let her die till I pay her back.

With the rapier in hand, I run towards the entrance of the cave.

I really hope I don't regret this.

* * *

**A/N: And with that, begins what hopefully won't be the worst Fan Fiction you have ever read. Well I hope that this was a decent start to a decent fic, though that may be up to you, the reader to decide on that. **

**Also I would like to give credit to RoseWarden for helping a fool like me with the advice that was given. Hopefully I did not disappoint and wasted that Author's time. **

**Anyway, with that ends the first chapter of Lost. Hopefully, it is not the worst thing that has ever been conceived.**

**So review or go back and look for hopefully better stories to read, Tis your choice. **

**-Raiden312**

_**Edit: Finally decided to fix this chapter a little, I corrected some of the errors that I found. Though if there are still some, feel free to point them out. **_

_**And to those who had pointed out the errors, you have my thanks...**_

**_Second Edit: Decided to 'remake' this chapter in a sense, since the second anniversary for this fic was coming up and I didn't want to leave this fic hanging._**

**_Plus I wanted to use what little experience and skills I've learned. I've actually progressed a bit since I first started out, still an amateur but a bit better._**

**_For those that don't know, I'm currently working on the rewrite of this fic. In hopes of fixing the problems I created and hopefully making the story better than it was before. So I've more or less, reworked the story and doing some adjustments with changes here and there._**

**_I'm going to put up the rewrite separately from the original, with the first chapter being more or less the same, I might do further adjustments. But by the second chapter things will begin to diverge a bit from the original before going on it's own path, as I've developed newer and hopefully better ideas. But still follow more or less the original plot, though I'm being a bit vague._**

**_To put it simply, those that've read the original, the rewrite will have differences. Some minor, and some that could be seen as major._**

**_Anyway, I don't want to ramble on, once more _****_I'll update this fic with a new 'chapter' so to speak of when the rewrite is going up._**

**_Till then I thank those who took the time to read this. I truly hope it won't be the worst Fan Fiction you've ever read._**


	2. Chapter 2

You know that feeling you get when you know you've done something really stupid?

Yeah, cause right now I'm feeling that way.

"Get back inside!" Lucina screams at me, as I stare at the sight before me. She was at the other side of the river and was in a defensive stance. In front of her was a….bear? A bear standing in front of her, with an axe in its back, discolored fur, and a familiar foul odor. What the….

The said bear turns away from the masked princess and faces me. Allowing me to see its face…..and it made me want to vomit. This thing had lost the color in its eyes, just showing empty whiteness, parts of its mouth were missing revealing its sharp gagged teeth. Its….this thing…..is like a Risen….how can….

"Raaagh" The undead bear roars, making my legs shake in fear. How the hell can this thing be like a Risen!?

Lucina, taking advantage of the situation, slashes at the bear's side. It growls in pain, then turns and swipes the swordswoman away. Sending her flying on to the ground. She skids across the rocky surface before plunging into the river.

"Marth!" I screamed, damn it have to lure it away from her. The Risen bear moves towards the spot Lucina had fell into. Come on, move it!

My legs don't respond, as they were still shaking in fear. I'm scared aren't I, of course I am there is something on par with my nightmares right in front of me. But still….if I don't she'll…

"Stop it," I say out loud, shutting out my arguing thoughts. Forget about what ifs or what not, just don't let her die because of a coward like you, so move your damn legs and do SOMETHING!

I sprinted to the other side of the river opposite to that of the bear. I quickly scanned the ground nearby me, and quickly grab a random stone. Heh, I'm really going to do something stupid aren't I? Screw it, whatever helps that princess out of this.

I fling the stone straight and forward. It skips across the river's surface, before miraculously hitting the undead bear in it's rotten face. The thing shook its head in confusion, then rises on it feet and gives out a bloodcurdling roar. Crap I think I just pissed it off. Okay what now…

Shit! I really didn't think this through, okay then Plan B. Run like a wannabe Forest Gump.

* * *

"Shit…shit….shit!" I duck under a low branch, avoiding the massive paw that followed sticking itself into the tree. Crap, on the bright side I've managed to lure this thing away from Lucina, on the down side. This damn thing is chasing me and I lost the sword I was holding!

I accidentally dropped it when I jumped over a damn rock. Dammit at least the snow is not that thick over here, or I'd be dead by now.

I zigzag through the trees, the freakish bear close behind. Have to lose this thing, I'm going to run out of stamina soon. I duck under another branch, the bear swings its massive hook like claws at me. Fortunately it misses me by mere inches and lands into the tree again. Heh, what an idiot he keeps doing that every time I duck under a branch or jump over a rock.

Wait, I might be able to use that against him….if only there's…

Out of the corner of my eye I spot something, I let out a feral smile. Okay then, time to see how stupid this thing really is. I rapidly turn around a tree and dashed forward avoiding the incoming slam of the bear. That's it wannabe yao guai, follow the tasty fool, just a bit further.

I quickly stop at the spot I looked at, and waited. The sounds from behind became louder as they got close. Just a little more, steady, steady. The noises were right upon me, I quickly grinned, three, two….now! I quickly throw myself sideways, the undead yao guai tries to slash at me but it misses and quickly slides over and falls. It falls over the little cliff side and to the ground below hitting it hard.

Ah, thank god for all those nature documentaries I've watched. Thanks to that, I am able to tell at least the slight differences between a hill and cliff side. Alright then, hopefully the impact killed that thing….

I pick myself up and look over the cliff side. The thing was lying on the ground, not appearing to be moving at all. Oh please be dead, that fall couldn't have been more than twenty feet. Please for goodness sake have somehow broke your damn neck…

"Raaah..." A low growl escapes from the undead bear's mouth, it slowly gets itself up and sniffs at the air. Damn it, should've known that would not have done it.

Crap, what the hell do I do now? I look at the surrounding area, heh lucky me. This cliff side doesn't seem to have a way back up for some distance. That will buy me some time, okay then time to go back and find Lucina.

_Snap. _Huh?

I turn around, and almost fall off the cliff side. There she was, standing right in front of me, the blue haired princess. She appears unharmed from the fall she took earlier...

Also she has the rapier I dropped, hmm I guess that might be how she found me.

"Marth, are you alright?" I asked, stepping away from the cliff side. The masked princess nods, she looks over the side. The bear was looking at us, it was oddly silent, like it was waiting for its prey to come down to it. That is very creepy…

"So," I say breaking the silence, "What is that thing?"

Lucina looks away from the bear, and straight at me. Her masked face felt truly serious, it almost felt intimidating.

"What I was hunting." she answers and becomes silent. My eyes widen in shock at her words, I pointed at the freakish thing below.

"Wait that thing, that thing right there? That's what you were hunting?"

She simply nods, "Yes, it has been terrorizing nearby villages for weeks."

Hmm…that actually makes sense, she'll do something like this, but that does not explain what the hell it is exactly. Screw it, I'll ask about that later, right now just deal with this Risen Bear, or Bear Risen….whatever.

"Okay then, do you have any idea how to kill it?" I asked, if this thing has threatening local villages around here. It doesn't deserve to live anymore. The blue haired princess stares at the Risen bear again, she looked as if she was taking in every detail she could. Wouldn't be surprised if she did.

After a minute or so, she sighs and shakes her head.

"No, I've never dealt with anything like this."

It'd be surprising if she did, from what I know from the game this thing shouldn't exist...

I shook my head in frustration, think on that later, just kill the damn thing. But how to do that…..it has an axe on its back so someone tried and obviously failed. An axe on its back…..its close but not on its neck….wait that's it!

I snapped my fingers as the idea came to mind, its crazy but it just might work. Lucina looks at me, curious to what I was thinking. Okay, time to convince her…..

"Marth, I have an idea...its risky but it may just work." The masked cosplayer stays silent, I guess that's my cue to continue. Alright then, be calm, just like you practiced dozens of times at home.

"You see that axe on its back right?" She nods, "Okay then, from what I can tell who ever tried to kill it, missed the spot they were aiming for. That spot could be the neck, that may be the weakness to it. So if one of us distracts it from the front, the other can land a strike on its neck. If its anything like that Risen you killed earlier, it should die from a blow to it's vital areas. So this may work if I distract it, and you kill it."

The masked princess simply stares at me, she looks back at the bear, then towards me.

"Absolutely not," she says, "It's too risky." I sighed, right should've expected that, Lucina wouldn't let anyone risk their lives, not if she can help it. I guess I can expect Chrom to be same, if I meet him of course.

"Alright then do you have any other ideas?" I asked, crossing my arms. That bear Risen thing is still being a silent watcher.

Starting to get a bad feeling from that, whatever its waiting for….it can't be good.

"We can-"

"Raaagh"

What ever Lucina was going to say, was cut off by the roar of the bear. Both of us look down at it, the thing was looking at us with its empty pale eyes. It grunts before turning around and slowly moves away. The masked princess and I just simply stare in shock as the bear moves out of field of vision. Disappearing into the dense labyrinth of trees, the only sign of it remaining was its deep tracks embedded in the snow.

Okay, what the hell? The thing just stares at us for a little bit, then decides to leave? That is just weird even for an undead bear, did it grow tired?

Or was it…..

Lucina brushes past me, bringing me out of my thoughts, she moves toward the edge of the cliff. She grits her teeth as she stared at spot the bear was. Whoa, I could almost feel the killing intent, she really wants to kill this thing. Makes me wonder how long she's been hunting it. Also come to think of it, when in the timeline of the game, am I in?

The masked princess is here so obviously in the past of her terrible future, but when exactly…screw it I'll have to ask later.

"Let's head back." Lucina bitterly says as she brushes past me again. She quietly walks away from me, she moves slowly then stumbles.

"Marth!" I yelled as I reached her side, the future child was on her knees looking completely exhausted. I grab her shoulder, but she brushes me away.

"I….am fine." she says, stubbornness evident in her voice. She tries to get up, using the rapier as support, then collapses again. I grab her again and pull her up this time she is not resisting. Probably too tired to even to put up a fight, I place her arm around my neck, slowly helping her stand. Ugh…this is going to be a pain helping her get back.

"It's a long back," I say in a low voice, "and I don't know where that cave is, so I need you to help, got it?"

The princess stays silent, but she slowly moves her head in a random looking direction.

"Okay then, that way it is, easy just one step at a time." I say as me and Lucina slowly move through the trees.

Dammit, this is going to take a while, hopefully with enough luck we'll get there it gets dark.

* * *

"I'm going to set you down, easy now." I say as I remove the masked princess's arm from my neck. I gently lowered her down onto the bedroll and moved towards the fire pit.

Whew, glad that we were able to make it a little while before it grew dark. She's been quiet this entire time, so much so I starting to think that she passed out. That actually might explain why she became heavier to carry, and why her feet were dragging on the ground…

Still I far as I can tell, she isn't injured cause I would've felt and smelled blood from her. So she's must be exhausted from fighting, makes me wonder if she has eaten anything recently. Okay, time to take priority first thing in the morning...get some fresh water/food, find some wood for the fire pit, then when she's feeling better I'll ask my questions. But first…

I move back towards Lucina, and gently remove the rapier from her hand. She doesn't resist, hmm…I think she's really out cold. Poor kid, comes to the past to save the future, then ends up being unconscious in a random cave. With a random dumbass stranger, and I complain about my shitty luck. Well then, this dumbass has to keep her alive cause he owes her.

With the rapier in hand I move to the entrance of the cave. I sit down and stare blankly at the running water. It's going to be dark soon, and since the future princess is unconscious. I have to sit and act as her guard…..and wait…..wait…wait.

Wow….this is boring as hell, how did people in medieval times even managed to entertain themselves?

Other then dealing with the occasional disease pandemic, starvation, mass religious hysteria, the ever now and then holy crusades, as well as the black death, wait that already falls under disease.

Hmm….the tyrannical kings, and queens….respectfully, idiotic nobility that abuse those below them. The lack of intellectuals available due to a certain belief, though when said intellectuals try to defy said belief they were either burned, hanged, pulled apart by horses, boiled in oil, or was that the inquisition?

Wait, why the hell am I thinking about Earth's Medieval time period? This a different world, with a different historical timeline so I shouldn't compare this to home. But I guess I can add magic to the mix and it'll be pretty much the same.

Enough with comparing Earth to this place! For the love of all that is good, stop thinking like a twisted sadistic person.

So pretty much no thinking like an evil Jade?

Yes, no thinking like that man, besides he's from another world. Tales of the Abyss, remember?

Oh right, love that game but Luke was an unbearable moron until that certain event. But he did look pretty nice with shorter hair in the later events.

Are you literally bored to the point where your having a conversation with yourself?

Yes, I apparently am….wouldn't this technically be a split-personality moment?

Not really sure, but it does factor in our sanity, but then again, we were never in the right state of mind.

Shut up other me.

….

Alright then...I think I just grew bored of pretending to be insane, what to do, what to do.

Oh, right! I still have the journal on me, if I can just take it out...

I pull out the journal and a mechanical pencil from my pocket, and began writing.

* * *

_Fire Emblem Character/Species Bios _

_Entry one_

_Risen Bear aka wannabe Yao Guai from Fallout_

_Origins unknown, possibly a necromancy experiment gone wrong or more likely an anomaly within this world's events as a result of my arrival. Though merely theories and cannot prove due to a lack of evidence._

_This 'Species' of Risen seems to be aggressive and has some intelligence. Though it has the appearance of a bear, (brown/black/white?), it's behavior is more of that of a mindless animal. Scratch that, it's behavior was strange, even for something that is supposed to be undead. The way it looked at me with those soulless eyes, it felt wrong, more so then that Risen Lucina had killed. But why? _

_It's speed appeared to be slower than a normal bear, otherwise I'd be dead. Though the decrease in speed does not affect it's monster like strength. It was able fling that masked princess into the river after all... Unknown in its other capabilities, use extreme caution in future encounters, add with careful strategy. _

_It is still strange that it left us alone, even though it staring at us for a long time. Why did it feel like it was waiting? Sure it was at the bottom of the cliff, but still…there is something more to this thing. Not it personally, but in how it came to be…is it connected to Grima? Or was it created with similar techniques and conditions? If so who had done it, and importantly why?_

_Cannot answer with available information, must seek out further info._

_End Entry_

I sigh as I put the journal down, I look to where Lucina was at. She was still knocked out on her bed roll, wait is she snoring a little? Heh…..she looks so peaceful. Lucky kid, she gets to sleep while I have to keep watch. At least I can finally write something, okay I think I'll keep writing until I fall asleep.

_Fire Emblem Character/Species Bios_

_Entry two_

_Lucina (Human) aka Marth aka the joke less one aka 'That' Princess_

_Is from a terrible future and is currently trying to prevent it. _

_Subject appears to be trying to maintain identity as well as personal affairs a secret. Though seems willing to assist others in need. Example: Me aka the dumbass. Apparently she was hunting the Risen Bear when she heard me screaming in pain. _

_Is quiet, understandably so. Though it feels weird having a bit of a one sided conversation. I guess I can now understand a little in how Coredila feels when she talks to her Pegasus mount. _

_Is currently going by the name of 'Marth', the Hero-King of this world. Though it is going to be difficult in future conversations to call her by that name. As the temptation is high to say her true name, as it is MUCH more fitting with her. It really does sound better then 'Marth'…_

_Wields the future Falchion that once belonged to her father Chrom. Though I still find it strange that it has a tear shaped hole acting as a hilt guard. Isn't it counter productive? Or does it act an additional option use to disarm an opponent? But wouldn't an opponent be able to stab through the hole? Though it could be the spot it gathers its magical energy. So many questions but no available answers. At first opportunity must ask if not witness use of said tear shaped hole. _

_Also why the hell is it called the Falchion, when it looks like an English style long sword? Cause last I remembered, a Falchion is a curved single edged mid-eastern blade not a double-edge English one. Meh, probably just something the creators of the game thought up. _

_Have to be cautious of her, can't appear in any way that seems I know of her. I have to create a believable background, but what exactly?_

_Already used a fake name…Leon Strife. A combination of two different Final Fantasy characters…I really wish that I didn't have to lie to her, I already know too much about her. But I want to survive in this world, and possibly go home if I can. Heh, it actually seemed so easy in those Fan fictions I've always eagerly read. I guess I'm living one now, eh?_

_Till then, I have to maintain cover, but as what is unknown for now. To be decided later, or when 'that' princess actually asks._

_End Entry_

* * *

Steady, steady…move slowly towards it. The rabbit twitches its ears as it eats what it had in its paws. It beady little crimson eyes staring at me, almost feel sad for it. I gripped the rapier as I approached the furry thing closely. Steady, steady….I lunged at the rabbit attempting to strike at it.

The furry little thing dashes away from me, and I hit the ground hard. Ow! Damn it, not again that's the fifth time that thing avoids me. I am not going back to that Princess empty handed, at least she was still asleep when I left the cave, so I have some time.

I rollover onto my back and looked at the morning sun. My stomach growls in agony, ugh…..its frustrating to hunt when I'm hungry as hell. This is the third time in my life I've gone without eating breakfast and it utterly sucks…..can't even catch a freaking rabbit.

If only I had woken up near Donnel's village, at least there I can learn how to earn my keep. But nooooo I had to be here, here being this freezing ass tundra that is Regna Ferox.

Why did it have to be…..

_Snap. _Huh?

I arched my head back, trying to see what was behind me.

"What are you doing?" Lucina asks as she approaches me. Her arms were crossed, looking as if she was curious. The Falchion was in its sheath, hanging at her side. You know she would have actually looked a bit cute if it wasn't for that damn mask. But that's my opinion…

"Hey Marth," I say as I pull myself up, "Feeling better?" Lucina nods then tilts her head.

"What are you doing?" she asks again, her tone was serious.

"Oh, I was trying to catch breakfast but these rabbits are fast." I simply say as I took a sudden interest in how shiny the rapier looked. Damn demon rabbits, if their fast at this size, I really don't want to see how Panne moves...

Actually that's a lie, I really do want to see how a Taguel moves in beast form. I bet it would be AWESOME.

The masked princess stays silent then motions me to follow her. Okay, this is a little odd, screw it follow her already.

We quietly moved through the forest, by quietly I mean Lucina is silent as hell as I stomp through the snow. Quietly cursing to myself as it became thicker to walk through. You know I'm really starting to not like snow.

Lucina stops at the center of some sort of clearing, then turns to face me. I don't know how to explain it but I felt an aura of seriousness from her. It felt intimidating as hell, and this girl is probably a little younger than me! I guess living in a hellish future can do that to a person….

The future princess raises her hand and points somewhere in a random direction.

"If you travel this way, you'll reach a village in half a day." She slowly says, "Talk to the Village Elder, tell him that I sent you, and he should provide you shelter and safety."

Silence passes between us...she's giving me the chance to run…..how kind of her.

She's right, if I go I'll be safe, but what then? Just leave her to fight that thing alone? Sure she may be a hero of this world, but she's just a kid for goodness sake! A child whose whole life was taken from her….by a bastard of a monster. Dammit, why do I have to be so caring for others…especially cases like her…and she's a fictional character….

"Heh….its kind of you to offer, though I have this dastardly thing called pride. So I won't leave you to fight that thing alone, you need all the help you can get." I say, words just coming out smoothly with little effort. How can I be saying that?

Lucina gritted her teeth at my words.

"You'll die if you stay." she says, "Yo-"

"Villages nearby are in danger, that's what you said right? If that's true Marth…..then I'll do what I can to help. I have this infuriating need to help others, I'm not the type to sit back and watch others in harm's way." I turn from her and walk away.

I stopped and peered over my shoulder, she's still standing there, I think I pissed her off a little. Just what the hell am I thinking?

I might die yet I still want to help, I've never done anything like this before...

"If it calms you, I think I have a better idea on how to kill that Risen bear thing." I simply say.

Silence fills the gap between us, then after a minute or so, the princess sighs and walks up next to me.

"How?" she asks in a low voice.

Oh, Future Princess: 0 'Leon':1

I let out a feral grin as the idea materialized in my mind.

"We trap it."

* * *

**A/N: Whew that took forever to do, I hope it was decent enough to bare. So yeah I'm trying my best to be original with this, and making the characters seem believable. **

**Did I do a decent job?**

**Tis your choice in answering.**

* * *

**RoseWarden: Heh, that's what they all say the first chapter, then it all goes down hill. At least from my perspective that is. Glad you like the name, took forever to think up. I always seem to have trouble with naming things. Yeah grammar issues are not surprising, always miss a few here and there. Thanks for pointing that out. So where in the timeline, eh? That will be answered soon enough...hopefully. So yeah, hope I didn't ****disappoint.**

**Gunlord500: Thanks for pointing out that error, saved me a little.**

_**Edit: Fixed some of the errors I found...if there still is some...feel free to point them out. **_


	3. Chapter 3

"__Our hero, our hero, claims a warrior's heart…I tell you, I tell you the Dragonborn comes….with a voice wielding power of the ancient Nord art..…..believe, believe the Dragonborn comes…..it's an end to the evil of all Skyrim's foes…...Beware, beware the Dragonborn comes…..For the darkness has passed…..And the legend yet__-"

"What are you singing?" Lucina asks, bringing me back to reality.

Wait, was I singing that out loud!?

….Shit!

My face heated up in embarrassment…..crap she heard me singing. Dammit, think of something!

"Um…..it's a song…..from an old legend." I blurted out, looking away from her. I really, really don't like it when people hear me sing. I'm so terrible at it.

"….Old legend?" She asks, sounding curious.

Crap, time to improvise.

"You ever heard the tales of the Dovah-I mean Dragonborn?" I asked, looking back at her. Why is she curious to what I was singing anyway?

The masked princess shakes her head at my question. It'd be impossible if she did, okay time to add on to the background.

"Well back home, the elders used to tell us stories about other realms." I start to say, "The Tales of the Dragonborn or Dovahkiin as they call it, is basically a set of stories about an adventurer, who has the soul of a dragon, traveling around a mystic land. Slaying evil where ever it lingered, heh I always loved hearing about them….."

Lucina stares quietly at me, she looked as if she was in deep thought.

"Dovahkiin." She says, pronouncing it slowly. It's pretty well for her first time. Also, holy shit…..she just said Dovahkiin….must resist urge to laugh. The Lucina fan boys and girls would kill me out of sheer jealously for this.

"If you want, I could tell you some of the tales, later." I offered, I really do wonder how she react to Alduin. And it makes me wonder who would win, Alduin __The World Eater __or Grima the asshole of a fell dragon.

Why didn't I write anything on that? Cause I'm pretty sure Alduin would win….I really don't like Grima, cause he is a pathetic excuse for a dragon. He can't even fly upside down, or spin or do a barrel roll. He just has size and magic….._ooohhh scary~!_

The future child stays quiet, she holds her hand to her chest. As if she was remembering something….maybe about her father? Before that asshole killed him…..

"Um….you don't have to answer right away." I say, bringing her from her thoughts. I really don't want to bring up unpleasant memories.

"You can just ask me whenever you feel like it."

"….Right….I'll…think on it." She finally says.

I mentally smirked to myself. Oh if only she had the soul of a dragon, it would be pretty funny and awesome to hear her shout 'Fus Ro Dah!' at Grima's pathetic face.

"Alright then….let's get back to work." I say grabbing the rapier at my side. "We got a bear to kill."

Lucina stays quiet as she goes back to watching the area.

It's been a few hours since I proposed the trap idea. In that time we, by we I mean Lucina, were able to hunt and catch breakfast. I have to admit, I didn't think rabbit on a stick would be any good. Also Lucina was so quiet when she caught it, the poor little thing didn't even know what hit it. That was actually kind of scary to watch, note to self do not under any circumstance piss off this woman.

But it was very tasty, wonder how bear will taste?

Not Risen Bear, but regular bear. If I ever end up meeting the Shepherds, I'm definitely going to ask their Robin that.

Anyway, after eating that tasty rabbit. We started searching around for an area that we can use for the trap. But it was slim pickings as this was a thick as hell forest, plus the snow makes things difficult. Finally after little while and me tripping over a couple of things. We found a decent spot that can work.

The trap itself, is a standard pitfall trap. And like any pitfall, you have dig a really big, really deep hole.

So here we are, taking turns digging this damn hole, with nothing but the swords in our hands. One digs while the other watches out for that bear, though Lucina has the advantage as her blade is much thicker. While I have a the thin rapier, I know size doesn't always matter but still…

If only she'd let me use the Falchion…but nooo cause it's a sacred blade, only she gets to use it as a shovel. Don't ask how that even works cause I don't know. Even though I'm doing it myself, but I can say…..tis better than doing it by hand.

"Time to switch." I say in a low voice as I pull myself out the hole.

Lucina merely nods as she gets up from the rock she was sitting on. She brushes past me and jumps into the hole and starts digging.

I placed the rapier down and sat on the rock that princess was sitting on. I peered to the sky above. Clear blue skies and the sounds of someone digging a grave. Ah, such pleasant sounds truly it is a wonderful morning. Sadistic thoughts aside, I wonder how the Hero-King would react to Lucina using the only sword that can defeat Grima, as a shovel? That defiantly be hilarious to look at.

I go back to staring at the digging princess, hmm…..the hole is not deep enough. It's at least close to two or three feet deep. We just need more time, if we don't finish soon then we got nothing. Unless that princess can come up with a better plan then me, we have nothing we can use to fight that Risen Bear.

Still it's oddly quiet, sure it's the forest but other then Lucina's digging there's no other natural sound. It's unnerving and putting me on edge. I wonder if Lucina can feel it too…

I sighed as I pulled out the journal,

_How to deal with boredom while digging a hole. That's a grave for a undead bear._

_1) Think of a song_

_2) Sing said song out loud._

_3) If with another person, think up ways to annoy said person._

_4) Be bored enough to write down ways on how to deal with boredom._

_ARE YOU DONE BEING BORED YET?_

I sighed as I put away the journal. Damn, I'm seriously bored here…I hate waiting. Screw it, have to do something to kill the boredom.

I moved off the rock and laid back on the ground. The mix of snow and dirt felt cold yet comforting. Ah, screw it I'll sing something to pass the time. But what? It has be something I know…..something that feels right…...

"__tue lei zwe kuloa riou tue zwe….kuloa riou zwe tue riou lei neu riou zwe...…va lei zwe tue neu tue riou tue kuloa...riou lei kuloa riou zwe lei va zwe lei….va neu va lei va neu va zwe lei….kuloa riou kuloa neu tue lei kuloa riou zwe lei va…lei va neu kuloa tue lei lei…___._." I raised my hand towards the sky at the last part.

Heh, I feel a whole lot better now, more calm and….just better..…

It really has been a long time since I've tried to sing that. I hope I didn't mess up on anything, that would have been embarrassing. Plus if the true singer of that had heard me, I'd be faced with a scolding right about now. At least I sang the sightly slow version of it, that is much easier for me to sing.

Quiet. It's gone quiet.

No sounds of anyone digging.

Did she finish already?

I looked toward the direction of the hole. Lucina was just staring at me, her head was tilted a little to the side. Looking confused or curious, I couldn't tell. Damn that mask, why can't she take that thing off already?

"That lullaby," She says slowly, her voice on edge. "How do you know it?"

Huh? What!?

"What do you mean?" I blurted out as she steps out the hole. The masked princess moved towards me, the Falchion in her hand. I feel like I'm in danger now…why the hell do I feel like that!?

"The lullaby…..how-"

"Raaaahh!"

What ever she was going to say was cut off by a blood curdling roar. Shit, that sounded very familiar…..crap I think it's the bear! Shit, the hole is not done yet.

Lucina gritted her teeth as she looked at me, then at the direction the noise came from.

"We're not finished with this," She says in a strict tone, "Let's move….now."

She moves away before I could even protest.

Damn it, what the hell did I do?

She just suddenly acts this way…..when I sang that...song, but she had called it a lullaby...

That "lullaby" is from another world, so what the hell is her connection to it? What ever it is, she's seemed pretty upset at me. Damn it, figure that out later, just keep 'that' princess from getting herself killed.

* * *

"Raaaah..."

The sounds of the bear grew louder as we quietly approached. By quiet I mean Lucina being the stealthy one, while I on the other hand try not to trip or stomp around too loudly. Or accidentally fall and stab myself with the rapier I was holding. Really starting to hate the snow...

We hide behind a couple of trees, then looked out in the direction of the noises. What the…..

The Risen bear was standing on its legs, and it appeared…it appeared to fighting other three other Risen! My eyes widen in shock at the sight before me. There were three human like Risen, each with an axe in their hand. With the bear standing at the center of them. The bear itself appeared to be injured, there were deep gashes at its sides and arms.

Something isn't right, why is that thing fighting other Risen? I quickly look at Lucina, she was quiet, and just staring at the sight before her. Wonder what she's thinking…..

The bear roars and I looked back just in time to it swing its claws at its brethren. One was taken down, the face of it was ripped apart in an instant. As that one crumbled into purple smoke, another comes in and slashes at the bear. The bear swings an arm in defense at the strike, then pushes the Risen down to the ground. It brings its jaws upon its head and crushes it into a loud _CRUNCH_.

The bear looks back at the remaining Risen, it roars at it defiantly. It lands back at all fours and charges at the Risen. The human like Risen itself charges at the bear as well...that one is really stupid.

The Risen Bear easily overpowered it's technical brother, crushing it with its weight. The Risen bear roars victoriously at the sky, as purple smoke rises from below its body.

Holy Shit!

We have to fight that thing!?

Yeah I think I'll end up shitting myself if that thing gets anywhere near me. Not kidding.

I hope that princess can kill it, I'm useless against that thing.

"Wait here." The princess says as she slowly moves away. Well shit, she's off to kill that thing while I'm stuck acting like a useless NPC companion, that's a pain in the ass to protect. Oh, what wonderful shitty luck I have. Yeah...there is no way in hell I'm going to be reduced to that!

"Wait." I said as I quickly grabbed her arm. The future child turns to look at me, an aura of fury and seriousness was coming off her. Shit, don't get intimidated, don't get intimidated.

"Look Marth," I start to say, "Unless you have a death wish, I suggest that you don't go charge that thing head on."

She stays quiet and just stares at me with that damn mask.

I sighed, "I understand that you really want to kill this thing. But we need to work together, if not then we stand little chance against that thing over there. We need a plan or something to try and kill it." The princess still is quiet as she stares at me. The furious and serious aura lessened a bit, and that made me relax a little.

"What do you have in mind?" She asks in a low voice. I blinked at her words, I seriously did not expect her to ask that.

Umm…..screw it plan B, make shit up as I go. Wow...I really am pathetic, aren't I?

"I have a plan," I slowly say as I let go of her arm. "But I need you to place your trust in me as I will place my trust in you."

And try to not let me die, but I won't say that out loud.

"We'll split up, one distracts the other kills." I say, narrowing my eyes. "I know you don't like it, but that thing over there appears to be injured. If we fall back now, we might not have the chance to fight it in it's weakened state." I quickly glanced at the bear, it was quiet really quiet. I'm really getting a bad feeling off of this. At least it's back is toward us...

Lucina stares at me then glances at the Risen bear. She sighs as she looks back at me again.

"Alright," She reluctantly says, "But do not take any unnecessary risks." I mentally smirked at her words, heh another win for me. Both of us wordlessly looked back at the bear, the thing was still silent and not moving at all. What the hell? This thing is acting weird, why does it feel like it's waiting? Waiting for something...but what?

The masked princess moved away from the tree first. Silently she moves the trees, slowly moving around the bear. Holy shit! She really is a demon! How can she be so quiet? I shook my head, as I looked back at the bear. My legs began to shake in fear once again, damn I'm really am afraid. Afraid that thing will kill me, and eat my insides. Afraid that thing will kill Lucina, dooming this world to an awaiting hell. Afraid that my fear will control me, turning me into a coward and everyone will die because of it. How can...

I quickly bite my lip hard, the pain and the sense of blood flowing down my mouth snaps me back into reality. Come on BAKA, stop thinking about stuff like that. Forget about all of those possibilities and outcomes in your head. Accept the reality that your in another world, and cast all of that doubt aside! Embrace whatever path and identity you choose for yourself, and live for everyone back home! It doesn't matter if you can or can't go back home, just live! So stand up straight and FIGHT, YOU STUPID BAKA!

My legs stop shaking as I firmly gripped the rapier in my hand. I never make any sense but screw it...I'll fight alongside that princess and think about what to do later.

So for now...kill this wanna be Yao Guai!

I dashed from behind the tree and straight at the bear. Have to keep it's attention on me, and give Lucina enough time to kill it. In the meantime try not to get hurt or die from it. Avoid it's attacks and keep it's front towards you at all times.

"Oi, Yao Gaui!" I screamed as I stop behind it. The Risen bear lifts it's head and slowly turns to me. The rotten smell reached my nose, but I was able to ignore it. The bear growls as it looks at me with it's empty pale eyes.

"You remember me don't you." I simply stated as I go into a random stance. "Come on, show me what your made of!"

The bear growls as it slowly stands up. That's it keep your focus on me, come on Lucina what's taking so long?

"Raaaaaaah!" The bear roars as it jumps at me. I throw myself to the side narrowly missing the few hundred pounds of dead bear. I quickly stand up and slashed at it's side. The bear grunts in pain and slashes at me with it's claws. I bring up my rapier barely able to block it in time. The force of the impact sends me flying right into a tree.

"Ack!" I grunted in pain as I slide onto the ground. Shit...that hurt, note to self dodge don't block. The bear charges at me, I rolled away just barely missing it's claws slashing the tree. I crawl away and move behind another tree. The bear growls as it moves towards me, damn it anytime now Lucina!

"Shit!" I scream, jumping back as the bear slashes the tree. Damn it, can't keep this up for long, what's taking that princess?

Out of the corner of my eye something moves towards the bear. Something...blue? That better be her...alright time for it's complete attention.

"Come on Smokey, is that the best you got!?" I yelled at the thing, it roars back in rage and charges at me. I stood my ground waiting, just a little bit longer...now! I jump to the side again missing the bear. Heh, this thing is so...

_Crunch! _

"Aahhh!" I screamed in pain as I felt the teeth of the bear grind into my leg. It knocks me down to the ground, then tosses me to the side. I skid across the snow and get knocked into a tree.

Ahhh, FUCK!

I try to sit up but fell back down as the pain increased. I coughed and blood lands on top of the snow, staining white with darkened crimson. Shit, I'm hurt pretty bad...I had too get cocky. Can't move...that thing chopped up my leg...really don't want to look.

"Raaah." Shit that thing is close...damn...it...where's...that...freaking princess...

I inched my head toward the sounds of the bear. I look just in time to see it right on top of me, it was staring at me in an almost pitiful like look.

Heh, I guess...being close...to death...really...does make...you...see things.

Darkened walls begin to appear and cloud my sight, the snow felt more cold than before.

Damn...I...don't...want to die...not when...I've...actually...taken charge...of myself...for once...

"I say when it ends!" A voice screams as the bear suddenly lurches back. Appearing to be confused and in pain.

What...

"Raaaaaah!" The Bear roars of pain increased as it jerked around. It moved away from my field of vision, all I could hear was a mixture of painful growling and grunts.

"Raaa..aaaa..." The growls and roars slowly come to a stop.

_Thud! _

Something heavy dropped on the ground, sounds of something moving to me approached closely. I try to move to see what it was, but something gently pushed me down.

"Don't move." Lucina's voice reaches my ears, my body relaxes obeying her words. I hear her mutter something, then a glowing light appears out of the corner of my eye. A strange familiar feeling settles onto my leg then proceeds to the rest of my body.

She's using the Falchion to heal me again?

"Marth," I start to say as I stood up, using the rapier as support. "What took you so long?"

Lucina gritted her teeth as she glares at me. Heh, I think I'm starting to annoying her...oh how fun.

"Well it doesn't matter," I brushed past her, then glance around. "That thing is dead right?"

"Yes," She simply says, sheathing the Falchion as she moves past me. She heads towards a random spot, then crouches down. What is she...

She stands up, carrying something in her hand. Oh, it's the axe that was sticking to the bear. The axe was not large, maybe about three feet, the blade was...

Wait, the axe is a normal firewood axe! Why the hell was an axe like that in that bear? Did Abe Lincoln mistake it for a vampire or something?

Inter-dimensional presidents aside, that is just strange.

"So what now?" I asked, forcing the thoughts aside.

Lucina stares at me before twirling the axe in her hand.

"We rest."

* * *

"Oh, this is so good!" I say as I took another bite. Starting to love cooked rabbit on a stick.

Lucina is silent as she nibbles on her rabbit, wow she really is a silent one.

I chomped down on the last bit of meat, savoring the flavor. I may normally eat chicken, but rabbit may just be a suitable replacement.

I politely wipe my mouth with my sleeve as I laid down next to the firepit. Basking in the warm heat of it's flames.

Today was nice I guess, other than the fact that I almost died, but I think eating that rabbit and killing that wannabe Yao Guai really balanced it out. Still though...Lucina did act upset when she heard me sing that "Lullaby" or the Grand Fonic Hymn as I know it. What is her connection...based from her reaction, it sounded personal.

Screw it, I'm going to push my luck.

"Hey Marth," I said as I sit up, looking straight at her. "Earlier you seemed upset to what I was singing, can you explain why? Did I say something offending?" That's it act a little innocent and confused, draw her in.

Lucina stares at me, then sighs as she puts down her rabbit.

"That lullaby, I want to know how you know of it." She states, the air around us became tense. Okay watch what you say, choose your words carefully.

"You mean the Grand Fonic Hymn? That song or lullaby as you called it, is from my homeland. It's a song meant for...when two people reunite together." I say, sounding as honest and innocent as I can. "It's from a old legend, older than most we have back home. Anyway, how do you know of it, I doubt it's common knowledge here."

Bullshit added with more bullshit with a tiny sprinkle of truth. How will the future princess respond?

"Your homeland, where is it?" Lucina says, changing the subject, I can practically feel her narrowing her eyes at me. Geez, she's really suspicious...how predictable, okay then one large sprinkle of crap coming up.

"It's really far to the east, I'd be surprise if you have ever heard of it. The name of it is, the United Isles of Amerisa or U.I.A for short."

The blue clad princess tilts her head in confusion, "...United Isles?"

"Of Amerisa," I added, correcting her, "It's a band of independent Islands under a single flag and since it's really far in the eastern ocean. We rarely visit the mainland so I doubt any know of us."

I fake a sigh, "I was given the rare chance to see the mainlands for myself, but I had the unfortunate luck to sleep in that Inn. Then wake here in this country, Regna Ferox...sounds strange off the tongue. Heh, then again my country's name probably sounds strange to you."

I let out a real yawn, "Anyway Marth, is this country your homeland?"

The future princess flinched a little but quickly recovered, "Why do you ask?"

I place a finger on my chin, giving off the appearance of deep thought. "Well...when I met you yesterday, you lead me to this cave, from the way you came here, the route you chose. It made me think that you've know of this place before, though you said that you were hunting that Risen like bear. So I assumed that you been hunting that thing for a number of days and this cave was a convenient place to use."

I closed my eyes, "You don't have answer that if you don't want to, it is your business anyway."

I lay back down on the ground, come on princess take the bait, take the bait.

"I...I am not from Regina Ferox." I hear the princess slowly say, "I from...elsewhere..."

That made me open my eyes and sit straight back up.

"Elsewhere, eh?" I asked tilting my head, appearing to be curious. "Well that's one country off the list, hmm."

Okay now I'm just having fun with her, messed up yes. Counterargument to that, I am really getting bored here.

I stare at her, taking in every detail of her body. Umm, that sounded wrong didn't it?

"Well your not from Valm since you lack an accent and from what I hear their sword styles are different from yours. Same thing with Chon'sin plus your attire doesn't match their culture. That leaves Ylisse and Ple-"

"Ylisse," She quickly says, looking a little uncomfortable. "I am from a village in Ylisse."

My eyes narrowed at her response, hmm that was interesting and unexpected result.

In the game as a character, Lucina seemed to be the type that may change the subject or not answer at all. Though she did with one the earlier questions, but the Lucina in front of me seems to be bothered by the rest of my questions. Has she not encountered someone that asks a lot of questions? Or is this Lucina not like the character she is portrayed as? This is the real thing after all, plus she is a young child who's been through a lot, so social experience may be ranked low on her skill set.

Besides, I'm being an ass for asking and knowing the answers anyway.

"I...I'm sorry for pestering you Marth." I say as I bow apologetically. "It was none of my business and I had no right to ask."

She stays silent as she stares at me. The air was still intense but somehow it felt a little less than it was before.

"Well then," I say yawning, "I'll get some sleep, goodnight Marth."

I put on my hood and laid back on the ground.

Okay so I got little usable information from her, need to figure out whats going here. If I stick around her I may be able to get some answers. Plus I'll have a better chance of survival, and then...

Then what? I'm still stuck in this world, and this ain't a fanfiction where everything magically becomes better. I've already made myself accept the fact that I am here in this world. Other than surviving what is there for me to do? Place myself in the events of this world and somehow change things?

Problem is, I played the game on Normal with the Causal setting! Almost every character I used had died at some point in the game, even when I tried to level them up. If anyone dies because of me...there's no way I can bring them back. And I may not be able to live with that...

Damn it, why does it have to be me? I'm nothing special, just another person in over his head. A weak human...with nothing...

I mentally slap myself, scattering the negative thoughts away. Damn my low self esteem issues, it always bothers me when I think about important subjects. Really hate it when it happens...

Alright enough about the depressing thoughts, need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

The sounds of the fire pit filled the cave, giving off an odd comfort.

It made falling asleep easy for me.

* * *

**A/N: *Sighs* Intended for this to be posted up sooner, but sickness decided not to. **

**So the usual with these, Read, Review if you want, or go back and find a hopefully better story to read.**

**Tis your choice**

**-Raiden312**


	4. Chapter 4

_How to deal with boredom when traveling with a companion._

_1\. Look around and take in the surrounding environment_

_2\. Try to sing a random traveling song_

_3\. Think up ways of how to annoy of your companion_

_4\. Come up with ways how to write in journal without tripping_

_5\. Practice not tripping when writing in journal _

_6\. And remember, don't be a Sumia!_

_Are YOU DONE BEING BOR-_

"What are you doing?" Lucina asks, sounding a bit annoyed.

"Just writing a journal entry," I simply stated, doing my best to ignore her while not tripping. I swear to Naga the snow gets thick and thin just to mess with me.

"Journal entry?"

"Yes, have to write...in case of memory loss...again."

Lucina froze in her tracks, she stares at me in bewilderment. I think it was bewilderment, damn that mask...really want it off.

"You've lost your memories before?" She asks sounding curious? I stop in my tracks and turn back to look at her.

"Once...about eight years ago...when I was ten I believe." I smiled innocently, "Fortunately it wasn't anything important, at least that's what my family had told me."

Lucina just stares at me, like I was that oddest thing she has ever seen, then slowly she continues walking. Brushing past me in the process, I mentally smirked.

Yes, it worked!

I put away the journal and mechanical pencil. Heh, what I said was just complete bullshit, I never lost any of my memories in my life. I was just bored enough to see how she would react to me. Didn't think I take it as far as a reference though, gods I'm such an asshole. It's funny how she had not reacted to the mechanical pencil, maybe she thought it was some sort of pen. That or a magical quil, must get reaction from that later, maybe during dinner. _Mmm Rabbit~!_

So today, has been nothing but walking towards that village Lucina had told and tried to send me too. We've been walking almost non-stop to it. Unfortunately, I was forced to give the rapier back to Lucina as she had asked/demanded it back. Same thing with the fire wood axe, I guess she's still cautious about me, or she wouldn't have disarmed me. I guess I'm less of a potential threat that way, can't harm her that much with my bare hands. I got a admit it's a little weird to see her carrying three weapons at once. The Falchion where it is normally at, the rapier strapped to her right, and the axe in her hands carefully being held. Yeah definitely a weird thing to see.

Cause of her being cautious, we're moving at a slow pace, hopefully she doesn't push herself. Or I have to drag her all the way to that damn village, really don't want to do that. I'll get tired and bored way too fast...at least I might be able to practice cursing like they

"Marth..."

"Be quiet," She cuts me off before I actually said anything.

"Really? I didn't even say anything..." I muttered, "Wasn't even gonna ask about the damn mask."

Earlier while we were eating breakfast, sadly it was squirrel, I asked Lucina about the mask. Naturally she stayed silent, and like the asshole I am I asked if I could wear it. She kept on ignoring me, than I started teasing her a little. Okay by a little I mean a lot, I kept asking annoying questions like "Are you blind? Cause that would actually explain the mask. Kinda like a swordsman of legend! Or swordswoman in your case." Or things like "Does it give you magical powers? That would actually explain the way you healed me with just a sword." and finally "The mask is stuck to your face isn't it?"

That last one actually got her pissed to the point where she yelled at me to be quiet. She actually looked like she wanted to strangle me and like a wounded puppy, I quietly obeyed her demand. My justification for my inappropriate actions? I. was. BORED. Plus I was trying to be seen as more of an annoyance than an actual threat. I honestly thought it would have worked, but now I think I made her see me as someone more annoying than Owain. If that was even physically possible. If she had been Severa, I think I would actually have been choked to death.

Damn it, I need a reason for her to keep me around. Why? Cause I strongly believe she'll ditch me at that village first chance she gets. Why the hell would she let an asshole like me stick around? Especially when she had made it her personal mission to save her FATHER...this I've been thinking about as I teased the crap out of her.

Unless...ah screw it, gonna be taking a huge risk doing this, but if I pull it off. I may just gain the chance to form a partnership, if not I'm dead...that simple.

Naga if you are actually watching this and somehow involved...please help me, so I can help her later. Or not...doesn't really matter cause I'm doing it anyway and I may die for it. Your choice...goddess.

I sighed, "Marth..."

"I said-"

"Why did you decide to help that village?" I asked, making her stop in her tracks.

Lucina becomes quiet as she stares at me, didn't expect that did you princess? Okay here we go...don't panic or screw up.

"Most of the time sellswords do this kind of work, but your not one. At least that's the feeling I get off of you." I say, crossing my arms. "I can't explain it, but it feels like you have some kind of burden on your shoulders, that involves people important to you."

The princess started to cringe, oh I'm not done yet.

"A burden that you believe you can carry alone, yet deep down you know you can't. Not alone anyway, still it matches you perfectly with the air you carry around yourself. Like your some sort of...noble princess...am I-" Before I could even blink, Lucina grabs me by the collar of my shirt and slams me into a tree.

OW!

"Explain yourself." She slowly says as she places the blade of the fire wood axe at my throat. The cold metal was rubbing against my skin, just begging for her to slice me open.

Fuck, I miscalculated a little...didn't think she was this strong.

"Who are you?" Lucina says, pressuring the blade a little more.

"So I was right then," I slowly say, grinning like an idiot "You are some lost princess...gods, I didn't think I had this kind of luck."

"What!?" The way she said that was utterly hilarious, I would have laughed if it weren't for the fact that she was holding an axe to my throat.

"Yeah, a princess from a kingdom or country, either exiled because of origins of birth. Or chooses to leave for personal reasons." I say with a straight face. "Um...I can explain how I figured it out, but please move the axe away from my neck? It feels like it's gonna bleed."

Lucina glares at me intensely, please don't kill me, please don't kill me.

"...Do not try anything," She threatens, then cautiously lets go of me and moves away. The axe was still raised, ready to strike if needed.

"Explain. Now." The princess says, her voice on edge. It sounded like she's trying to control herself. I guess I freaked her out with my words, alright then time to 'explain' myself.

"Okay," I start to say, "I was able guess a little on who you are, based on the profession I'm training in."

I slowly raise my hand. Lucina's grip tightened on the axe, I raised my index finger.

"One," I say, trying my best to sound calm. "The fact that you saved my life, sure a sellsword may bother to do the same thing. But you were different, from the way you acted towards me. You tried to make me leave so you wouldn't have to worry for my life. When I refused and offered a plan, you agreed though reluctantly but you agreed. Others would never have listened and would have forced me to leave."

I raised my middle finger.

"Two," I say, sounding a little more calm. "The fact that last night, you tried to avoid some of my questions, especially about your homeland. It is understandable if one does not wish to talk about home, like myself when you first asked me. Though the way you acted was more complex, like your quick answer between Ylisse and Plegia."

Lucina's hands were starting to shake a little, I mentally smirked at that. I raised my ring finger.

"Three," I say, sounding completely calm. "As I said earlier before you interrupted me, the air that you carry around you, has a sense of nobility. A sense of purpose, that can inspire others to follow you."

I raised my pinky, smiling like a complete madman.

"And lastly four," I say, sounding calm and confident. "The fact that you slammed me into the tree behind me, confirmed my suspicions towards your possible identity. And now I ask you Marth, what would you do with a fool that was able to figure you out by pure luck?"

Silence filled the space between us, as a stare off occurred between me and her.

"Swear you will not speak of this to anyone, or else..."The princess finally says, leaving the threat hanging in the air.

I smiled as I raised my hand towards her, "Back on the Isles, when two people make a promise, they shake each others hands and say the word that binds it. Though since I'm the only one from there, I'm the one who has to make a pledge out of it then the say word."

Lucina stares at my hand, with that mask on her face I had no chance at all to try to tell what she was thinking. I'm really tempted to pull that thing off in her sleep, tempted not suicidal though so no.

Slowly the blue-clad princess raises her free hand towards mine, both of us firmly gripped each other. I let out a smile, not the false ones I've been doing, but a true genuine one.

"I, Leon Strife, of the United Isles, from the Windy City of Angels, swear to you. That I will keep your identity a secret, and will not expose it nor use it against you in any matter. Unless you have given your absolute permission and blessing to me. This I swear, Aschente!" Okay that was a bit much, but it should achieve the desired affect.

We let go of each other's hands, the princess just silently stares at me.

"I know words may not prove my intentions," I added with a polite bow. "But please allow me the chance to prove it to you in my actions."

Lucina just kept staring at me, then finally sighs as she slowly lowered the axe.

"The profession you were training in, what was it?" She asks, sounding curious.

I tilted my head at that, hmm what was it? Can't say Spy, Assassin, Trickster or Thief or she would go complete Frederick on me. Merchant would make a little sense, but I have no idea how this world's market system works. I'm no Kraft Lawrence that's for sure, so it has to be something believable but what?

...Crap the only one I can think of, is the one that I don't like the most...damn my luck.

"Well...that one is simple really," I start to say, the princess tilted her head in curiosity.

"I'm training to be a tactician."

* * *

"Hold, identify yourselves!" A loud voice booms from atop the village wall.

Lucina just stays silent as she looks up at the source of the voice.

"Oh, it's the swordsmen, open the gates!" The large wooden gates slowly open reveling the village itself.

The princess moves in without saying a word, damn this place is huge.

After declaring myself as a tactician in training, Lucina didn't display any reaction to it. If she did, she did a good job of hiding it. Damn it, of all the things I had to declare myself as...it had to be a tactician.

I sighed as I looked around the village, hmm it's quiet, a few houses and hut like places. Pretty standard for a medieval style like village, the walls themselves are...normal. By normal, I mean being around twenty feet high, made out of sturdy looking trees. Pretty good defense against pests and local animals around the area, but bandit attacks might be a bit different. As they can use fire tipped arrows to burn the walls, but this place seems remote so there might be little chance of that happening. Though I could be wrong...

Still, why does it feel a little empty?

"If it isn't Marth," A deep voice brings me out my thoughts.

I turn to see a man with dark skin, wearing robes and was holding a staff. Is he this village's leader?

"I'd be honest in saying that I that I thought you'd be dead." The man says as he approached us, "So have you done it? Is it dead?"

"Yes," Lucina says, her voice sounding forced. "Here is proof."

She presents the wooden fire axe, the man similes as he takes it from her hands.

"Well on behalf of the village, thank you." The man says as he stares at the axe. "You have done us a great service."

"It was nothing sir," Lucina says, voice still trying to sound like a boy. Great going to have to refer to her as a male. Saying her real name is hard enough as it is.

The man chuckles at her words, he looks at me then back at Lucina.

"May I ask who this young man is?" The man asks, my eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Really I'm standing right in front of you, couldn't you ask me yourself?

Lucina stays silent for a moment, then sighs.

"He's-"

"Hello, my name is Leon, I'm Marth's brother..." I simply say, interrupting Lucina. I really have a death wish don't I?

Silence fills the group, three, two...

"Your brother?" The man asks, sounding confused as he looked between me and the princess. "You don-"

"Ahem," I cough into my hand, "I know that we don't look like it, but we are siblings."

Lucina quietly glares at me, she's probably going to kill me now. I can practically feel the killing intent off of this kid. _Scary!_

"Hmm, Marth never mentioned a sibling." The man said as he scratched his head in confusion. Heh, this is getting fun to do.

"Brother, is never open about himself." I say, grinning like an idiot. "He expresses himself in his own way."

I place my hand on top of Lucina's head patting it lightly. In a blink of an eye, she grabbed my wrist, twisted it and knocked me down on the ground.

OW...OW...OW...OW...

"Ow...see...in...his...own way." I struggled to say as Lucina increased the pressure on my wrist. Crap, I went a little to far with the pat.

The man stares at our display, then chuckles it then proceeds to full blown laughter. Lucina lets go of me as she stares at the man in bewilderment. I get up and stare at the man as well.

"Hahaha...well then you certainly act like siblings," The man says, "Come, come, we will discuss your endeavor inside my home."

Wait, Lucina did the village a great service, right? Does that mean there's a reward? Oh,please be a reward, really starting to get hungry.

Well then...let's see what the reward is...heheh...I hope it's something good.

* * *

I do have to admit for a medieval style house, it is rather cozy. The man, who I still assume is the village elder or something, brought us to what looked like a cabin like house. It had all you can expect, a warm fireplace a simple bed and a desk with a few chairs. Yeah, definitely cozy...

Lucina and I are currently sitting in a couple of chairs, as the man is sitting in front of us. With a jug and three cups, is he going to serve us alcohol? I really hope not, Lucina and I are not the proper age for that stuff. Plus I hate the smell...

"Tell me young man, why is some of your trousers missing?" The man asks as he pours the drink into the cups.

"Huh?" I looked down, oh right. Lucina might of healed my leg, but the bear had torn the pants, so part of my leg is exposed. At least it isn't a huge tear, or my leg would have been frozen by now.

"Oh, um...I had tripped and torn them on a loose branch." I say off the top of my head. How am I supposed to explain that I was healed by a magic sword?

"I see..." The man says as he picks up a cup and passes it to Lucina. "I am sorry to ask, but are you sure the bear is dead?"

Lucina merely nods as she looks down at the cup before taking a sip.

"Um," I start to say, "Pardon me for asking, but has the bear been that much of a threat?"

The man stays silent as he passes me a cup. I discreetly looked at the contents, wait is this milk?

"Well yes, it has scared most of the people." He finally says as he drank from his own cup. "Some to the point where they ran off to the safety of the Western Capital."

That explains the empty feeling I got earlier. Still something seems off, I can't explain it. Screw it I'll ask...

"How had that bear terrorized your village?" I asked as I took a sip, hmm it is milk and it's good.

Lucina starts to glare at me, I guess she's still tick about the brother thing.

"Oh, it mostly had wandered around the area of the area of the village." The man says, as he sips the cup of milk. "By luck or gods, it never came any where near the village itself."

Huh, that's a little weird, okay the next thing.

"Has your village experienced any strange occurrences?" I asked, taking a sip of the milk again. If say anything that relates to dark magic, then I might figure something out.

"Well yes, with the occurrence of the walking dead again."

Huh?

"Walking dead? You mean Risen?"

"Yes I suppose that's their proper name, strange how they suddenly came to the area a few weeks ago."

I pause at that, few weeks ago? Does that mean...I need to be sure.

"A few weeks ago? So when did the bear show up?" I asked.

"About a week or so after the Risen had came about, young man may ask the purpose of these questions?"

"Just making sure of something," I answered as I tilted my head. "Tell me something, has any Risen bothered your village ever since the bear had shown up?"

The man stares at me, confused by my question. Come on, answer it...

"Well now that you have said it, there hasn't been any of those Risen lurking about."

That confirms it, cause that bear was attacking Risen, but why is unknown. I need more information...or else this is point less.

"I figured that..." I mumbled as I drank a little more of the delicious milk. Is it goat or cow? Didn't see any livestock on the way in, so I guess it could be goat.

Lucina remained silent as she drank her possible goat milk. Really starting to hate that mask...can't tell what she is thinking.

"Well then," The man starts to say, as he looked at Lucina. "Marth are you planning to go to the Western Capital?"

"Why do you ask?" She asks, voice still sounding forced. Really starting to annoyed by that obvious fake voice.

"The time of which Khans take rule is soon." The man simply says, "With the tournament happening, I do hope you take part in it. It has been a while since I've seen any worthy candidates."

Wait, tournament? Isn't that where...

"I ma-"

"Hold on a second," I say interrupting Lucina...again. "Tournament, you mean the type where a bunch of people go in and fight to the death?" I have to be sure...if it is the actual event from the game. With that it will give me a clear outline of when and where exactly in the timeline I am in. And with that info...

"Well not exactly, but it is a deciding factor in which Khan rules." The man says, "If you do take part, I hope it is on the side of the Mighty Basilio, his champion Lon'qu has been undefeated for a number of years."

Lucina became quiet at that, hmm I know what she's planning, enter the tournament defeat Lon'qu and become Basilio's champion. All in order to battle her father, but why? That was never truly explained in the game, why would she do all of that to fight her father? It is understandable if that prince lost the chance to forge an alliance with Regna Ferox cause of Lon'qu. That or pretty much what all of those fanfictions had theorized...the test of her strength and resolve to change the future. Or something like that...meh, I'll ask her another time.

"So Lon'qu is that strong, eh?" I wondered out loud, taking another sip of the milk. "Wonder what it takes to beat him?"

"Are you thinking of entering young man?" The man asks.

I pause at that, do I actually want to enter? Simple answer, hell no! Truth mixed with complications? I have no idea, if the event of the tournament is happening soon...then it is likely that Lucina will go there. Canon should still be canon, other than that weird dead Risen Bear, nothing besides me should be messing with the plot line right now.

"Well...I am curious to see this man's skills for myself." I finally say, "If that involves joining the tournament, I'll leave that decision to Marth."

The blue clad princess cringed a little, but quickly recovered before the man noticed.

"Me?" The princess asks, sounding a little taken back by what I said. "Why?"

"Don't you remember brother?" I asked, "I may be the eldest, but you have better instincts when it comes certain decisions. So how about it? Should we go and enter that tournament?"

Lucina stayed silent a my questions, I guess she didn't expect me to say anything like that.

I snickered at her silence, "I suppose you'll think on it later."

Still, if I do enter that tournament with Lucina, what the hell can I do? I have no skill set that can help in combat, and since I declared myself as a tactician. I may end up having to actually create a strategy to help Lucina win. Against Lon'qu I mean, her father...a different story on that, I wonder how this world's Robin is?

Wait, why am I thinking on this now? I haven't even been made a official companion, so until Lucina accepts having me around to a certain extent. I'm just a random person following her, and she won't hold any trust in me.

I need to change that...

"So when will that tournament begin anyway?" I asked, sipping the last of the sweet milk. Still guessing it's goat.

"Well, from what I remembered," The man says as he scratched his head in thought. "It is less than a month away."

"Is that so," I say, putting a finger under my chin. "Um...how far are we from the western capital? My memory is poor on that.."

"Oh, on foot it is no more than two weeks away," He says, still scratching his head. "If you travel now, you may reach it with a few days to spare."

I nodded, a few days to take down Lon'qu and have Lucina as the new champion. Just in time for her to fight her father and purposely lose?

Heh, challenge accepted.

"Well, we thank you for hospitality sir," I say as I got up from the chair and did a polite bow. "But me and my brother simply must be going."

The man nods as I return the cup along with Lucina's. Okay as soon as we leave the village, do everything you can to make Lucina take you along. But no threats of blackmail, or she will kill me and leave the corpse to rot in the snow.

Pretty simple plan, right?

* * *

"Geez, what's taking him so long?" I asked as I sat down on the cold snow.

Lucina stays silent as she looks back at the village. I still wonder how she can be so quiet...maybe she took some lessons from Gaius or something...

I sighed as I laid down on the cold ground and stare at the sky above. Man this is boring...it's been twenty minutes or so since we left the man's house. The only reason we haven't left is that the village elder guy wanted to give us something. Lucina being the 'selfless' hero that she was, told the man whatever he offered to give wasn't necessary. But the man was pretty insistent and said that we wouldn't regret this gift. Whatever that meant, I was seriously joking about the whole reward thing.

I just hope he doesn't give us gold or anything like that. Sure it could be this world's currency but that metal would be completely useless to us.

Why?

Cause we are going to hike a two week long march to the western capital of this country, and the last thing we need is bags of useless metal. It's not like we are going to run in to a merchant on the way there. I doubt the princess is that lucky...

Should I sing a random song? No I probably shouldn't, Lucina might know it and get all upset like last time. Still wondering how she can know about the Grand Fonic Hymn...wait a second.

Could it be the work of...Steins;Gate? But that wouldn't make sense, Hououin Kyouma is a mad scientist that can travel through time not dimensions unless...the phone wave experienced a significant glitch. And instead of traveling through time, it somehow become capable of traveling through space and time! So it might of transported Okabe...

"Heheha." I started giggling to myself, then started laughing completely.

"What's so funny?" Lucina asks, sounding like I had gone insane.

"Hehe, oh it's nothing," I say, calming myself down. "Just remembering something an old friend once told me...El...Psy...Congroo..." I would have said hacking to the gate, but I doubt she understand what I meant. She wouldn't understand it either way...

Lucina went back into her silent mode. I bite my lip in order to stop myself from laughing any further.

Was I seriously that bored to start thinking about that anime? Sure I know it involves time travel, but that version of it won't help me here. Still it would have been funny if that was what completely happened to this world.

Joking aside, how does one from a certain world gain access to knowledge from another? In this world, it should be impossible for it to see other worlds. Wait that's wrong, theoretically there is a way to make that possible.

The Outrealm gate, that DLC thing from the game. If it actually exists in this world, then it is possible that something in Lucina's past was affected, because of it. Since it can supposedly travel to other worlds. It's the only thing I can think of that makes a little sense, but it still might be something else. Damn it, I need more information, need to figure this thing out. If the Outrealm gate truly exists, then I might have possible answers in how I got here in the first place. But I have to confirm it's existence first, if not then there's no point thinking about this.

"I apologize for taking so long," The man's voice reaches my ears, breaking me from my thoughts. It better not be gold...

I quickly stood up and looked at the man, huh? That's a satchel...

"I had to be sure they weren't spoiled," The man says as he approached us, holding the satchel with both hands.

"What is this?" I asked as I walked up to him. The man offers it to me and I cautiously take it from his hands. Hmm, it isn't that heavy, so it doesn't feel like it's holding gold.

"Just a little something to assist your journey," The man says, as I slowly opened the satchel revealing it's contents.

Wait...

"Fruits, vegetables, and...are those waterskins?" I asked as I stared at the contents. This thing has food in it, a few apples, a couple of potatoes, a cabbage, a few carrots, and a couple of waterskins to be exact.

This is...

"This...is too kind of you," I said, sounding reluctant. "I'm sure you need this more than us."

The man laughed at my words, "Nonsense, the both of you need this, consider it payment for a favor."

I blinked at that, "A favor, for what?"

"Why for your service to this village of course." He says, pride evident in his voice. "It'd be a shame if this village let two young ones leave without something to help."

Pride...it always has to be pride. Meh, whatever works...besides free food for killing an undead bear!

"Then you have our up most thanks," I said, closing the satchel then doing a polite bow. "Well then Marth, shall we go?"

Lucina simply nods then politely bows to the man. She quickly goes on ahead before the man could say anything.

"Heh, he never was much for conversation." I commented as I stared at the princess's retreating form, she sure is silent and fast. If only she was an assassin instead of a royal...then I would at least have an enjoyable time with her. Damn my love for anime and things like that...

"Well then young man," The man says as he politely bows, "Farewell and good luck where ever you travel."

I smile as I nodded to him then turned and started walking to the awaiting princesses. The satchel was strapped to my back, it felt normal, like carrying a backpack to school. Alright then, time for the tales of the swordsmen and tactician to begin.

I just hope she doesn't kill me...

* * *

_The theory of the Risen Bear_

_Based on evidence and information obtained, it is difficult to guess the possible origins of the Risen Bear._

_My main theory is that it was resurrected like normal Risen but under different circumstances. By different, I mean it doesn't involve an asshole Fell Dragon. _

_Why such a guess? Because in the game, Risen where normally humanoid based organisms, sure there were undead horses, griffons and wyverns. But they were used as mounts instead of individual units, which is pretty stupid when I think about it. _

_If you have the power to bring dead things back to life, why stop with humans and mounts? Why not bring back other organisms, like dragons, wolves, or other things that can be of use? Never really understood the stupidity of Grima in that field. And besides that asshole shouldn't be around yet, even if he did follow that princess back to the past. He doesn't show up for another two years, but I could be wrong. Still this doesn't seem to be Grima's style of doing things, plus that Bear attacked it's own brethren._

_Something's off about this...the only possible candidates or characters that can possibly do this are..._

_Henry the funny and awesome blond haired Psycho, Tharja the seductive predator and stalker, Validar that complete asshole who deserves to die in agony, and lastly Aversa the whore-ish step sibling._

_Those four are the only ones I think can do something similar to the Risen Bear. But there is so many holes in that theory, because all four of these dark mages are in Plegia. Goodness knows how many miles south of Regna Ferox. _

_How and why would any of them resurrect a bear and have said bear go north? Maybe I'm over thinking this...I need-_

_Scratch__ that, I have to gain any possible information on this...perhaps if I ask Lucina...no she would become way to suspicious of me._

_Damn it, I have no choice but to figure this out later._

_End Entry_

I sighed as I put away the journal, the night sky is rather nice to look at. Plus the fire feels warm enough, when's that princess coming back?

After we left the village, Lucina was very quiet, she didn't yell at me for the brother thing. It was rather unsettling, cause I didn't feel anything off of her, no killing intent, no rage. Just nothing, I was starting to get worried because this is out of character for her. In terms of character behavior, she would have least forced me to explain why I called her my brother back at the village. Unless...wait what if the mentioning of a sibling caused an unneeded set of memories to occur. Cause it's possible that she has a sibling, depending on who her father had married. Which is a five out of six chance it happened in her past.

Crap, that makes me a complete asshole for doing that and not consider Lucina's initial reaction. I probably made it worse for her as I might of brought up horrible memories. I'm practically torturing her mentally, and she might snap and things will get even worse for her.

I have to, no I MUST apologize to her. I can't cause one of this world's only hopes to go insane because of some sick joke.

Why do I always...

_Snap._

I turn my head in the direction of the noise.

Lucina quietly comes into view and sits in front of the fire, opposite to me. She was staring at the raging flames, the mask looked as if it were reflecting the embers. Wait, she's only carrying the Falchion, what happened to the rapier?

Dammit forget about that right now, just apologize to her, before she thinks about killing you!

"Um...Marth," I nervously say, the princess looks straight at me. Crap, with that mask it's hard to figure out her thoughts. Okay, just take nice and slow, nice and slow.

"I-I...I'm sorry!" I blurted out, sounding on like I was on the verge of panic.

Lucina tilted her head, confused by my sudden out burst.

"I-I...I'm sorry for what I did back at the village." I say, fumbling the words a little. "It wasn't right of me to call myself your sibling, I have no excuse for it."

The masked princess quietly stares at me, making me more nervous.

"I...understand if you angry with me," I start to say, "I-"

"It is...alright," She says interrupting me, her voice sounding normal. "I am not angry, but I am confused."

Huh?

"Confused? On what?" I asked, a little relived that she wasn't angry.

"You noticed that I hid my true gender from the village leader, but instead seeming confused by it, you created a story of us being siblings. As a possible distraction from my true identity as well as yours." She says, staring at me with that damnable mask. "You were very interested in the origins of the Risen like bear, understandable for some but you were pressing the leader for more information he did not have."

Oh crap, this can't be...

The princess tilted her head, looking as though she was mocking me. "Then the sudden look of interest you had when the leader mentioned the tournament. The way yours eyes were, when Lon'qu's name was mentioned, and when you mentioned his name. It sounded so full of intent."

I gulped as I felt sweat drip from the back of my neck. Crap, I feel like I'm in danger again...crap...

The princess actually did a mocking smirk, "And lastly, the reaction your displaying right now, only guilty men show that. Especially ones who are lowly thieves...or spies."

What the...she...thinks I'm a spy!? Crap, I have to...

Lucina slowly gets up, she grips the hilt of the Falchion.

"W-wait," I say, shocked by her words. I quickly get up and slowly back away.

The princess slowly draws out her sword, the blade glistened in the fire light.

Shit, she's going to kill me!

"I-I'm..n-not," I backed up a little further away from her. Damn it, I'm becoming too scared of her, I can't even speak!

"I'll say this only once," She said as she circled around the fire and moved towards me. The Falchion was reflecting the color of the flames, giving it an orange red-ish like glow.

Crap, I'm officially scared shitless right now.

I step back but trip on my own footing, I try crawl back but stop when Lucina poised the Falchion towards my neck.

"Now for the truth," The masked princess slowly says, her voice completely devoid of emotion. "Tell me who you really are."

* * *

**A/N: Well that's an end to that one. Hopefully it was alright.**

**Same thing as usual, read, review, or find a hopefully better story to read.**

**Tis your choice.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**RoseWarden: Heh, that sword has been through a lot, I'm sure a few 'specks' of dirt wouldn't really bother it.**

**I still find weird that there isn't any other variations of Risen, besides the humanoids and mounts there's not much else. So why not something different, like an animal? Um...who would actually enjoy resurrecting a dead bear? Besides Henry, though I somehow doubt he would do that, or else he would have brought back his mother wolf. Hmm, the people or animals turning into Risen when expose to them like a virus...that's an interesting idea.**

**Outrealm ****shenanigans, that's actually a thing? Did not know that.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Now for the truth," The masked princess slowly says, her voice devoid of emotion. "Tell me who you really are."

You know that old saying that your about to die, your life flashes before your eyes? Yeah I'm not seeing anything at all...is that bad?

"I-I t-thought I-I t-old you," I nervously say, paying mind to the blade in front of my neck. "I-I-"

"Enough with your act of innocence," Lucina stated as she moved the Falchion closer to my neck. "Who are you, are you a theif? Or better yet a mage, a possible position for the one who resurrected the Risen like bear. Tell me now!"

"I-I'm nothing l-like that." I say, my fear visible to her, "I-I'm J-jus-"

Before I could even react, Lucina kicks me down on to the to ground. The Falchion was just inches from my neck, shit this is bad...

"Enough with your lies," She slowly says, "Tell me why you are in this place, and I make your suffering tolerable."

What the hell is wrong with her!? She's acting so chaotic...what did I...

"If your choosing this...then very well I have no choice."

Wait...

"I'm sorry but I must keep this world safe...I must keep him safe no matter the cost." Lucina slowly says as she raised the Falchion above her head.

"W-wait, d-don't..." I scramble to say, desperate to speak.

The Falchion quickly dropped down straight into my chest. I screamed in agony as my vision faded into darkness.

Then the feeling of nothingness fills my entire body...

* * *

"Ahhh!" I screamed as I sat up, my heart pounding in my chest. I gripped my jacket, as I breathed rapidly. The morning sun was glistening above the trees, blinding me a little.

Wait...I-I'm alive? But didn't...

_Snap_

Huh?

I quickly looked to see Lucina come rushing in, her hand was on the hilt of Falchion. Ready to be used if needed.

"Are you alright?" She asks, voice on alert. "I heard screaming."

She looked around, then back at me. I blankly stared at her, not knowing what to say. Finally I forced out a sigh.

"It's nothing...just...a bad dream," I say, forcing myself to sound calm. "Sorry to make you worry."

Lucina stares at me, then nodded as she removes her hand from the hilt. I ignored her as I stared down at my chest, wasn't I stabbed? If I was then why would Lucina...

I slowly unzipped my jacket, and looked through my shirt right at the spot where I was stabbed.

T-there's nothing there...no wound...no scar...was it a dream? But...

"What are you doing?" Lucina asked, wait I almost took my shirt off in front of her...

Shit!

My face flushed as I zipped up my jacket. Damn it, that was embarrassing.

"U-um, Marth," I nervously say, "Did anything weird happen last night?"

Lucina tilted her head, appearing to be confused. Of course she would, it is a weird question.

"Nothing," She says, shaking her head. "Why do you ask?"

My face heated up as I looked away from her.

"Just a weird thing, nothing to worry about."

Lucina says nothing to me, most likely she didn't believe what I said. I would have looked back to try to guess what she thinking. But I didn't want to feel more embarrassed. Finally the princess sighs, making me look back at her. Wait a second...the rapier is at her right side...so was it...

"I'll be in shouting distance." She simply says as she slowly walks away out of my sight.

Five, four, three, two...and she's gone...again.

I sighed as I looked up at the sky. Okay, what happened was a dream, right? But, why did it feel so real? That doesn't make any sense to me, sure I have had realistic like dreams before. But I've never felt anything like that before. The pain I felt, it hurt so much...I...

I shook my head, forget about it...it just some stupid dream. Just focus on getting up, and help Lucina skin a rabbit or squirrel, hopefully it's a rabbit.

I get up from the cold snow and looked around. Okay what direction did she go in? Umm...maybe the left...

Wait...hold on a second...

I took out the journal and flipped through the pages. Come on, it should be here, come on...

Finally I found the page I was looking for, hmm it is exactly how I left it off. The theory of the Risen Bear...so the journal entry happened...but Lucina stabbing me in chest didn't. This is just weird...almost Steins;Gate weird...

I sighed once more as I sat down on the snowy ground. Pulling out a mechanical lead pencil, I flipped a to a blank page and began writing.

_Weird Dream happened, more like a nightmare...no idea what it was exactly...or what caused it. _

_What happened in it was...it felt so real. Lucina looked so...renegade...like the version of her who would do ANYTHING to prevent that future from happening. A tragic form of the heroine, that nobody wants to see...but why did I have it?_

_Stress? Guilt? Or was something related to magic? Maybe 'That' goddess is involved...but why would Naga mentally mind fuck with me?_

_A warning? Like she was trying to say..."If you mess around with the people of this world, you'll die in agony. You have been warned." Now add a demon like smirk, and you got a pissed off goddess. _

_Still...whatever the cause...it scared the living shit out of me. I was so scared...I couldn't..._

_Forget about the fear...just take the message it carries...don't fuck around with this world too much or there will be consequences. Like the butterfly effect...but different. I think it's more like the world line theory of Steins;Gate..._

_At least just don't do anything that makes..._

I paused as I looked up to the sky.

"Naga, if you can hear this," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "If you were responsible for that...dream. I got the message, I won't screw up her chance to save this world. Though I just want to survive...I'll do what I can to help her on her journey. You okay with that?"

No response, no weird feeling or anything like that. Just the sounds of the natural snowy forest. So pretty much nothing...

"Okay, I'll take that as a maybe." I mumbled as moved to put away the journal. My stomach started to growl, obviously giving the sign I was hungry.

Damn it, where did that princess go? I'm hungry enough to eat at least three rabbits! Wait didn't I have that satchel that village elder gave me?

Where was it...

I glanced around, okay the fire pit is right there, so the satchel should be...to the right. Oh there it is...close to the fire place...to scare off scavengers but far enough to not burn the thing.

I pulled myself up and moved towards the satchel, should I eat something from it? Nah, Lucina will get mad at me for eating the reserved food. Yesterday, before that nightmarish dream, Lucina and I had agreed to save the food in the satchel for when we have nothing else to eat. So when there is nothing to hunt, we eat fruit and whatever else is in this. But we also had agreed to eat the contents before it becomes spoiled.

Okay then, just take the satchel then find Lucina.

* * *

"Hey Marth," I whispered as I crouched down next to Lucina.

The princess ignores me as she removes the squirrel from the snare trap. Really, I wanted it to be a rabbit...

"Need any help?" I asked, as much as I want to learn how to skin the squirrel...I'll think I'll pass.

Lucina stays quiet as she focuses on removing the snare from the squirrel's neck. Almost feel sorry for the thing. Finally after a minute she nonchalantly points in the direction of some random trees.

"I left a few snares there, check on them." She plainly says, "If there's nothing then disarm and bring them to me."

Really? Disarming traps...fine with me then.

I simply nodded as I got up, and moved in the direction she pointed.

I may not know much about traps, but I do know some of basics. The trap, like any other snare trap, consists of a few branches and some wire. I'm surprised Lucina had metal wire, she kept it hidden somewhere...maybe in her pockets. I don't know...didn't bother to ask her. Besides, I was a little worried that she might of thought of hanging me with that. I know she won't actually do that, but that dream makes it a possibility. Damn my paranoia...

Okay it should be behind these...Huh?

My eyes widen at the sight before me, a fox with it's leg caught in a snare trap. It's fur matched the snow around it, its eye were a crimson like color. Wow, this is an interesting sight, it's not moving so it's either dead or tired out.

I move in closely to it, careful to not make any noise. The fox noticed me and started to struggle in vain as it was desperate to get away from me.

"Whoa, easy, easy, not gonna hurt you." I say, slowly raising my hands as I moved closer. The fox continued to struggle against the snare, causing it's leg to be more tangled in the wire. Crap it's going to hurt itself, have to calm it down but with what?

Oh...

I unstrap the satchel from my back and rummaged through it's contents, come on where is it. Oh, there it is...

I pulled out a bright red apple, placing the satchel to side as I moved a bit closer to the fox.

"It's alright," I say, calmly holding out the apple. "Here, I'm sure your hungry."

The fox looked at me cautiously, then noticed the apple. I placed it gently on the ground before retracting my hand away. The fox cautiously moved towards it, sniffing the air. That's it...just a bit closer...The fox reached the apple, it kept sniffing at it. Finally it took a cautious bite, then started chomping down on the apple.

Oh, if only you were a wolf instead of a fox. I would have named you Holo and demanded to keep you. Okay then, now for the hard part.

Slowly I move my hands towards the fox's tangled leg, that's it little kitsune focus on eating. I'll just quietly free you...

My hand was just over it's leg, when the fox rabidly turned and bites it...hard.

OW!

I bit back a curse, as I used my free hand to reach its tangled leg. The fox lets go and bites my other hand.

"Fuck!" I screamed, shit that seriously hurt. The fox stared at me then cautiously went back to eating the apple. It's crimson colored eyes were watching me, revealing the intelligence of it's owner. Clever little thing aren't you? I'm so tempted to try to keep this thing as a pet...

Damn it though, I can't distract it well enough to try to free it. What the hell am I supposed to do?

It's wrong to leave it like this...

"What are you doing?" Lucina's voice appears from behind me. Oh, wait I forgot about the noble princess...who helps things in need...heheh.

"Oh, Marth." I start to say, turning to look at her. "Um, can you help me with this?"

Lucina stared at me then looked at the hurt fox, then sighs.

"Why is that fox eating an apple?" She asks, sounding a little annoyed. Really of all things she asks about the apple...

"Um, I was trying to calm it down," I did a mock shrug, "But the little kitsune is clever, can you help me free it?"

Lucina tilted her head, "Kitsoup?"

Must resist erge to laugh, cause the way she said was really hilarious.

"Kitsune," I say correcting her, "It means fox. So can you help, cause I really don't want my hands being bitten...again."

The princess sighs as she slowly approaches me, she crouches next to me.

"Why do you want to help it?" She asks, sounding curious. Did she really just ask that?

"Really? You have to ask?" I pointed at the injured kitsune, "Look at the thing, it's hurt. And besides weren't we hunting squirrels or rabbits? Not very cute looking foxes?" That part of me hopes will turn into an immortal half girl slash fox. If only that thing was a wolf instead...damn my perverted thoughts...

Lucina just blankly stares at me, you know one of these days I may just try to pull off that damn mask. It's seriously annoying me...

"I'll distract it, you remove the wire." She simply says as she moves closely to the fox.

Wait how is she...

The princess stops right in front of the fox. The kitsune stops eating the apple and stares at her cautiously. Ready to use it's teeth if needed. Lucina sits down on the ground right next to the fox. She inhales then exhales, and inhales again.

What is she...

"...__tue lei zwe kuloa riou tue zwe…." __

Wait that's...

_ "...kuloa_ riou zwe tue riou lei neu riou zwe..."__

The Grand Fonic Hymn, she's singing it?

__"...…va lei zwe tue neu tue riou tue kuloa..." __

The fox stared at Lucina, it looked absolutely spell bounded by her voice. Okay, it's distracted, time to untie the wire.

__"...riou lei kuloa riou zwe lei va zwe lei…."__

Okay about a quarter done...almost there.

__"...va neu va lei va neu va zwe lei…."__

Halfway done just a little more...

__"...kuloa riou kuloa neu tue lei kuloa riou zwe lei va..."__

Almost there...just a little...and done!

__"…lei va neu kuloa tue lei lei..."__

The fox immediately dashed away from us as soon as Lucina finished the last bit of the song.

Aw, I thought it stay and at least try to lick Lucina's mask off in thanks...oh well maybe next time.

"Hey, Mar-." I stopped as my eyes widen, Lucina...she...she's crying?

True enough the future child was shedding tears. The mask was covering her eyes, but the tears had trickled down the sides of her face the mask didn't cover. She doesn't seem to notice me, she looks like she's just staring at the spot the fox once was. Her hands were clenched into fists, some of the tears dripped on them.

Why is she crying? Was it the song? Did...did it bring back painful memories?

Damn...poor kid...been through so much...yet she can't...

Slowly I placed my hand on her head, bringing her back from whatever she was thinking of. The princess looked at me, surprised by my action.

"Let's head back," I said, showing off a genuine smile. "I'm sure both of us are hungry."

Lucina looked away from me, slowly she removed my hand from her head. Though she was much gentler than last time, heh...her hand actually feels a little soft. Never noticed that...

Both of us stood up at the same time, then slowly walked back to the makeshift campsite.

* * *

_Possible connection to Grand Fonic Hymn_

_It is a strong possibility that Lucina learned that song from something or someone dear to her. As evidence suggests when she showed a strong sense of emotion when she had sung it. But who or what taught her that song? That is still unknown, like so many things..._

_At least she's finally calmed down a bit, I gave her space. I feel sorry for her, to carry such a burden with nobody around that can relate to that._

I put away the journal as I stared at the sky above. Lucina was across from me but she was behind a tree. After she finished cooking the squirrel she took her half and went behind that tree. I didn't say anything because I guessed that she was still a little upset.

Damn it, what the hell can I do to help her? She's still a kid...

A child from a desolate future, a burden of the entire world on her shoulders. One can take so much before they break, it's no different from her. That nightmare is proof of that possibility...

Screw it, let's see if I can at least say something...

I got up from my spot I was sitting in and moved towards Lucina. Damn my kind self, I hope this works...if not then I'm an asshole. That simple...

I stop and placed my back against the tree, with Lucina behind me. Okay, here goes...I open my mouth to say something, but found that I couldn't say anything.

Damn it, I can't even say anything...crap...maybe if I...

A familiar horrible smell reaches my nose, cutting me off from my thoughts. This smell...crap it can't be...

"Risen," Lucina says, as she appears next to me. "Their close..."

"What do we do?" I asked, I'm really unprepared for this.

"You wait here, I'll deal with them." The princess said as she drew her sword. Really, leave me behind again? Not a chance...

"Alone? Really that's your plan?" I asked, sounding annoyed.

Lucina stared at me, she gritted her teeth a little. And annoyed quiet princess is back, I guess her hatred to Risen brought her back.

"And what do you suggest, tactician?" She said tactician in a bitter manner, am I under her skin already?

"We work together." I simply stated, smirking a little. "It should be easy for-"

"Raaaagh!"

Shit, that scream was close...yeah that definitely sounded like a Risen. But how many? Two or three I'm sure Lucina can take on without having to worry about me. Five or more could pose a problem for us, damn it. I might need to protect myself...I need that rapier.

_Snap._

Huh?

Both me and the princess turned our heads in the direction of the noise. Crap...that sounded close, okay then...

"Marth, give me your rapier." I say, voice on edge.

"No," She answers, is she really going to do this?

_Snap._

Another noise is heard but from our left. Okay there's a second one...easy for her to handle but...

"Damn it, we don't have time." I say, "I need to defend myself."

"I said-"

_Snap._

A third separate noise is heard, this time on our right. That makes it three, dammit they might start closing in.

"Marth, we-"

_Snap._

A fourth noise is heard, this one right on our rear. Four that makes four but it's behind us...none of them had shown themselves yet. That doesn't make any sense...unless.

_Snap. Crunch._

The one from our front makes noise.

_Snap. Crunch._

The one from our left makes noise, matching the pace of the one in front.

_Crunch. Snap._

The one in our right makes noise.

_Crunch. Snap._

The one from behind us matches the noise of the one in the right.

"Their trying to confuse us..." I say in shock, "Their intelligent enough to try a basic tactic like that..."

"What do we do?" Lucina asks, looking around as the noises grew closer. She doesn't know that tactic?

It's a simple tactic to guess where the enemy will appear first.

I smirked to myself, right now Lucina and I are in a game of chance. If we spot a Risen then we have a chance of killing it, if a Risen sees us first, then that one holds a chance to charge at us when we're looking at it's buddy. Divide the focus of your opponent and you have a chance to poke holes in their defenses. It's pretty much what we did to that bear.

But there's a problem to that tactic...

"Their trying to draw our attention from at least one of them, but we have a chance not to get ambushed." I turned around, "Marth, I'll stand behind you, my back will be towards yours."

"And then?" Lucina asks, her back actually pressed against mine. She's actually listening to me...that's interesting.

"I need that rapier of yours," I say, "I know you don't trust me with it, but I need to defend myself. I rather not be killed by a walking corpse today."

Lucina stayed quiet, damn it do have I make a stronger case? Those things are getting closer, I don't have time for that. Screw it, I'll just...

"Take it," The princess says, sounding reluctant. She motioned the rapier towards me, it was still in it's sheath.

I slowly smiled as I grabbed it, "You won't regret this..."

Lucina stayed silent, meh I'll prove it to her then. Slowly I removed the rapier from it's sheath, the blade shimmered a little in the light. This is only the second or third time I used it, heh it's funny...here I am using a weapon I have no true experience in terms of use. About to fight creatures from another world, what an interesting twist to one's life.

_Snap._

"Here they come," I say as I held the rapier firmly. Have to stay calm or both of us might die.

"Raah!" A Risen appears in front of me, it had a sword...really why me first?

"Raaah!" Another Risen screamed, I couldn't see it, it's probably on Lucina's side. Alright then, focus on this one.

"Get ready." I hear Lucina say, she inches away from me. "Stay near me."

"Right," I nervously say, my hands trembled a little.

The Risen in front of me tilted it's head, it was staring at me with it's dark purple eyes.

"K...kill...i..intruder."

What!?

The sword Risen charged at me, it raised it's sword.

I cursed as I raised mine, barely blocking it's blade in time. The force of the Risen knocks me into Lucina, who was able to push me back. Preventing me from falling on top of her, damn it this thing is strong. I can barely hold it...

"Get down!" Lucina yells, I ducked with out questioning her. The Falchion moves over my head and straight into the chest of the Risen in front of me, killing it instantly...the Falchion moves away from my head. That was close...

"Thanks.." I say as I looked at her. The princess simply nodded, one down three to go.

"Raaah!"

Both of us looked in time to see another Risen appear from the trees. This one has an axe...

"This one is yours," I offered, yes that was a dick move but as the one with no combat experience, yeah she's more suited...

The princess stayed silent as she brushed past me. She firmly gripped the Falchion, ready to strike at her target. I backed away from her, I don't want be in the way now, do I?

The axe Risen charges toward Lucina, who remained still as she stared at the thing. The Risen jumps and slashes at her. Lucina merely jumps out of the way and slashes at it's head. Slicing right through it like it was nothing.

My eyes widen as the Risen dissolved into purple smoke. Holy shit...that sword is freaking awesome! It really is as sharp as the game claimed it to be...I seriously want to hold it right now.

"Raaah!"

After we get rid of these Risen, two down, half way done.

"Behind you!" Lucina screams.

I turn to see a sword coming at me, I jumped to side narrowly missing the blade. Shit that's too close!

"K..kill...i..intruder." The Risen says, raising it's sword again. Crap have to block, I raised the rapier but I was pulled away as the Risen thrusts it's blade me. Making it narrowly miss me a second time...What? I turn to see Lucina nod then let me go. Okay, thank her later.

I slash at the Risen aiming for it's chest. The Risen was able to block my strike, I move back and slashed at it again. It block me a second time then pushed me back, knocking me on the ground.

What the hell!?

The Risen brings the sword down towards me, but Lucina intervened by blocking it. I quickly got up and thrust the rapier at it's side. The blade pierces right through it, the Risen turned it's head to look at me. Scaring me with it's soulless purple eyes.

Crap, I missed...I was going for it's head.

Lucina pushes the Risen away and thrusts at it's head. The Falchion easily moved through the Risen's head, the thing went limp as it dissolved.

"You alright?" The princess asks, as I crouched down on the ground using the rapier as support.

"Yeah," I exhaled awkwardly, "Just need a second to breath."

_Snap._

Really, not gonna give us a break? Ugh, fine let's just kill this thing. It should be the last one.

I stood up and looked in the direction the noise came from. There was nothing there, I guess it hasn't shown up yet. So two of them were using swords and one an axe, but what would this one use?

The last Risen's noises stopped, where ever it was in front of us, it became quiet. Okay that's weird, why did it go quiet?

"Marth, you see anything?" I asked, scanning each tree for movement. Dammit, can't see anything...where is it?

"Nothing." Lucina said, she too was searching the last Risen. Not even the princess sees anything, okay this is starting to get creepy...

A stupid thought would be that it had ran away, an unlikely idea is that it had gone invisible...wait!

"Marth," I start to say. "By any chance do these things take more than just a form of a human or animal?"

Lucina remained silent then raised her head like she just remembered something. But she remained silent to my question, she's not going to say anything is she?

"Watch your footing." She warns, scanning the ground in front of her.

Okay she did, watch your footing...crap she's talking about a Revenant! I forgot those existed...but I'm not supposed to know that...

"Wait, watch my footing?" I looked at her, pretending to be confused. "What do you-"

"Watch out!" Lucina pushes me to the ground as a huge figure came out of nowhere.

What the...

I stared in shock at the thing before me. This 'thing' was about six feet tall, with dark purple skin, a black bag over it's head. No, the bag was it's head! With massive claws on the end of each of it's arms. The thing turned it's head looking at me with dark crimson eyes.

This...this thing is a Revenant! Crap...

"Move!" Lucina yells as she slashed at the Revenant. I scrambled to my feet and ran to a nearby tree. I turned in time to see Lucina being forced back by the Revenant.

The princess dodges a strike from the thing. She slashed at it, cutting off an arm. The Revenant moves back and crouches down almost turning into a puddle. Lucina takes a defensive stance waiting for the Revenant to move.

Wait...the thing looks like it's about to pounce her! Damn...I have to help.

I gripped the rapier as I moved around the Revenant, who's attention appeared to be focused on Lucina. The princess noticed me, but she didn't say anything as she kept her gaze on the puddle before her.

Okay, I hope this works...this is really going to suck...

"Ah!" I screamed as I jumped on top of the Revenant, bringing the rapier straight down on it.

The Risen jerked upward, launching me right into a random tree.

OW!

"Not...again..." I groaned in pain as I slid down onto the cold ground. The Revenant turned towards me, crap...had to try that, really bad idea...

"Forget about me?"

_Chink!_

The Falchion pierces right into the chest of the Risen. The blade travels upward splinting the thing from the neck up.

That is...disgusting.

The princess walks around the Revenant as it dissolved into purple smoke. She moved towards me, then crouches down in front of me.

"Are you alright?" She asks. Really? Did you have to ask that!?

"I'm...fine." I say getting myself up from the ground. "Just a few bruises, nothing broken."

The princess nodded, seeming to be relieved. I guess she doesn't want to use the Falchion to heal me again. I wonder if there's a limit to it?

"Here." I hold out the rapier to Lucina. "Those Risen are dead, no need for me to hold on to this."

Lucina stared at me, maybe she didn't expect me to give it back. Slowly she grabs it and takes it away from me. I couldn't help but smile at that, heh she's still cautious of me. But I think I gained a little bit of trust...

"We should move." The princess calmly says. "More of them may come."

I merely nodded as I straightened myself up.

This is going to be a long day...

* * *

Five days...it's been five days since we were ambushed by those Risen.

Five days and I'm bored as hell!

Really, I have been able to do nothing but write in the journal, mostly random stuff. Or think up ways to annoy the crap out of Lucina. Yeah really bored enough to consider taking risks on my life...

"How far we?" I groaned stomping through the snow. Boredom slowly taking over my sense of...whatever.

"Still far." Lucina said, sounding slightly annoyed. She was walking ahead of me, the rapier was strapped to her right side...again. Probably an awkward feel for her, I would offer to hold on to it, but she'll probably glare at me. Then stab me when I eventually pester her about it.

Great another day of boredom...

Might as well sing a random song or something.

No wait I can't, cause Lucina might get upset by whatever I sing. And I don't know what she knows form other worlds.

Ugh, so bored.

Screw it might as well write something in that journal.

I pulled out the journal and a mechanical pencil, careful not to trip on the snow.

_Lucina didn't show any reaction of the Risen talking to us. If she did, then she hid it well._

_She stayed quiet when I asked if it's normal for Risen to talk. (Had to stay in character.) But she did eventually say it was not._

_No more answers from her after that..._

_Still those Risen had said "Kill intruder." It makes me worry, cause I am an intruder of this world._

_But for all I know it could have been directed at Lucina as she is from the future._

_Damn it, this is getting too weird too quickly. At least the princess has seemed to forgot about her crying incident._

_Still wondering the root reason for that..._

_Coul=============_

_Damn it, I tripped and left a mark on this page. Would erase it but want to save the eraser._

_It's weird, I somehow been given a journal and two mechanical pencils with led containers. But no erasers..._

_Did what ever took me from my world, forget about them?_

_And the hell is with these in the first place!?_

_This is definitely not one of those fanfictions where an evil version of me, can communicate with me._

_By just using this damn journal, cause I already tired that...wrote out request but no response._

_I wonder if there ever was a Self-Insert fic that placed it's self in another Self-Insert fic..._

I put away the journal and mechanical pencil.

And I'm bored again...really I get bored easily...

I wonder...screw it I'll ask and possibly get rejected...been meaning to ask it anyway...

"Um...Marth," I asked nervously. The princess stops and looks at me. Okay, you have her attention...ask away.

"Can I ask a favor?" I twiddled my thumbs, making me appear more nervous.

"What is it?" Lucina asks, sounding curious.

I took a deep breath, "C-canyouteachmehowtouseasword?"

"What?"

Crap! I mumbled it all out, crap!

"C-can...you teach...me how to use a sword?" I say, completely nervous.

Lucina tilted her head, staring at me with that damn mask of hers.

"Why?" She asks, sounding curious yet cautious somehow.

I gulped, okay do this carefully...have to be careful.

"I-I want to learn how to defend myself." I stated doing my best to sound calm. "I know that I'm not good at that, what happened with the Risen ambush made me realize that."

I sighed, "I ask that you teach me how to use a sword, and in exchange..."

"In exchange?" The princess asks, crossing her arms.

"In exchange, I offer my services as a tactician." I say, crossing my arms as well. "You may have seen me demonstrate basics tactics, but I do know more advanced ones." Okay, that's a bit of a lie mixed with the truth.

"Why would I want to employ a tactician?" She asks, okay why is she asking this? Is she testing me?

"Because..." I start to say, "You may need one like me if you intend to fight at that tournament."

Lucina became quiet at that, come on princess think on this...

"You assume I want to enter the tournament?"

"I know we've been heading east," I say shrugging to myself. "Unless there's a village nearby, it's logical to assume we're heading for the western capital..."

"And with that you believe I'll enter the tournament." The princess finishes. She sighs, as she reach for the rapier.

My fingers dug into my arms, the nightmare was still fresh in my mind. Please don't stab me...

The princess sighs as her hand settled on the hilt of the rapier.

"Alright," She says. "I will train you, but under a few conditions."

I smiled, "Name them."

"We will train once a day, for an hour, either at dawn or before dusk." Lucina says, "But under no circumstance you will carry a weapon, and will only use one when I specify so. Are these conditions agreeable to you?"

My eyes narrowed as I tilted my head, she's setting the conditions to her advantage. Heh, clever girl. Looks like I have no choice...

"I agree to these conditions, Marth." I say relaxing my arms.

Lucina nods then reluctantly holds her hand out to me.

"Huh?" I tilted my head confused by her actions. What is she...

"Did you not say that when your countrymen make a deal, they shake on it?" Lucina asks.

...Oh, right I forgot about that...

I smirked as took her hand in mine.

"Right then, as I said before I agree to your conditions. Aschente!" This may end up getting annoying if I make any future deals with this woman.

We shake then let go of each other.

"Let's move then." Lucina says as she goes on ahead.

Well that was interesting...hopefully I can keep this character up.

* * *

"Is that a road?" I asked staring at the path ahead us.

"Yes." Lucina says, "There's a village along the side of it, we'll arrive shortly if we follow it."

Well that's interesting, hasn't been an hour since we made that deal. And we somehow come across a road, an actual road that leads somewhere. Possibly the western capital, but as Lucina just said a village. It's likely that Lucina has used this road before to find the village we left awhile ago. Meh, I'll ask another time...

"A village, eh?" I asked as we stepped on the road. "Think they have a place to stay?"

"Possibly." The princess simply answers, then becomes silent.

I'm somehow getting used to Lucina being silent. It's weird when your companion is quiet because she doesn't want to talk about herself.

Mostly it's just boring...

"Hey, is that the village?" I asked as a large structure ahead becomes visible.

Lucina stayed quiet as she continued to walk ahead of me. Fine don't answer...we'll find out anyway.

A few minutes later we reached the large structure. I was right in my guess...

The village's walls were similar to the one deep in the woods but the difference was that there were more visible guards.

"Hello travelers!" A guard from above the village wall yells, "What is your business in this village?"

"We're looking to trade and a possible place to stay!" I yelled back before Lucina could say anything.

"Open the gates!" The guard yells, the doors near us slowly began to open. Revealing the village it's self.

Whoa...this place is much bigger then the other village. More houses, huts, tents and actual people outside doing whatever their doing... There's some horse carriages and wagons around as well, is this place a rest stop for travelers and merchants?

The princess walks in ahead of me, leaving me staring at the place.

Really?

I ran to catch up with her. I couldn't help but glance around the village with interest.

People talking to merchants, a couple laughing together, a farmer leading a goat from a merchant, a merchant selling a sickle to a woman.

Wow, this place is full of life...

"Step right up!" A cheerful voice says, "Solve the riddle and get a free prize!"

Wait, that voice...

I move away from Lucina as she was staring at something else.

"Come on, step right up and solve this riddle." The familiar voice says, "Free prize for the winner!"

I turn a corner and stop at the sight before me.

Huh? It's...it's Anna!?

Red Hair in ponytail? Check.

Matching crimson eyes? Check.

Red and yellow clothes? Check.

Steel Sword with a bear chained to the hilt? check.

Obsession with gold? Pending need more info.

The Anna was smiling as she kept offering anyone that passed by a chance to win a prize. Even doing that trademark smirk and wink...but it doesn't seem to make anyone come close to her.

Should I see what's she doing? Meh, don't have anything else to do...

"Excuse me miss," I say, as I approached her. "Did you say riddle?"

The Anna stops smiling and stares at me. Her eyes moved up and down as if she was taking in every detail of me.

"Well hey handsome!" She says cheerfully, doing that trademark Anna pose. "As I've been saying, solve the riddle and get a free prize!"

"What's the prize?" I asked, slightly curious.

"That's a secret handsome." She winks at me. "Solve the riddle and you'll find out."

Her voice is sweet as honey, but her tone is that of a viper.

"Alright, I try it out." I say shrugging, really don't have anything else to do...

The Anna gives a smirk that would make the cheshire cat jealous.

"Alright then," She says, motioning me to follow. "Follow me."

An attractive woman making a young man follow her in a promise to gain a prize. Doesn't this sound a little wrong?

Cautiously I follow after her through some tents, there was other merchants selling things but I ignored them as I followed the Anna.

Wonder what she's doing in a place like this...if it is a small trade hub then it would make sense but I don't know...

"Here we are!" The Anna says cheerfully as we approached a large tent.

It was red matching the same color as her hair. I guess that's her favorite color...

"Honey we have a customer!" She yells as she opened the tent flap, showing the items inside.

Whoa...the tent had a bunch of shelves with a lot items and weapons and other things I didn't recognize. Any spot that wasn't used for a path, was filled with items.

Swords, lances, bows, pots, potions...is that a an axe?

"Honey, where are you?" The Anna cheerfully asks as she looks around the tent.

Wait...honey?

"Alright I'm coming out!" A rough male voice says.

"Hurry up we have a customer." The Anna says, sounding a little impatient.

A man comes out from a weapon rack. He was wearing a brown dirty coat, and had dark hair and eyes.

"Well a customer, huh?" The man asks as he stared at me. "Why's his pants ripped?"

I flushed a little at that, "Don't ask..."

The man chuckled a little, he looked at the Anna.

"So what he's looking for?"

The Anna smiles at the man.

"He's here to answer the riddle you came up with."

The man smiled at that, "Well then let's see if he's capable."

He moved past me and rummaged through some stuff.

I wonder what that princess...SHIT!

I forgot I ditched Lucina at the entrance, crap she's probably pissed at me right now.

"Ah, here we are." The man comes back with what looked like a wooden board. He hands me the board to me.

"Read what is written and say the correct verse."

Correct verse?

I looked at the board, huh?

_The...of...is my name...my wings...to...tame_.

Wait this verse...it sounds familiar...but...is it...

"Um.." I start to say, "The bird of hermes...is my name...eating my wings...to make me tame?"

The man and Anna stare at me, their eyes were widen like they were surprised.

"Did I get it wrong?" I asked, getting a little nervous by their looks.

"No you didn't." The man said, "Pardon me, but what is your name?"

"Oh, um it's Leon Strife." I say, feeling a lot more nervous.

"I didn't ask for your fake name," The man says, looking deadly serious. "I meant the one you had on Earth."

My eyes widen as I stepped back a little.

"What!?"

* * *

**A/N: And with that completes another chapter. It's a bit longer then the last, been trying to increase the number of words per chapter.**

**So the usual with this...read, review, or hopefully find a better story to read.**

**Tis your choice.**

**-Raiden312**


	6. Chapter 6

What the hell is going on!?

The man before me laughs, as I stared him in shock.

Okay, either this is a dream...again, or I'm in a tent full of crazy people. Please be a dream...

"Heh, well judging your reaction," The man says, "I'd say your the real deal...but to be sure..."

The man looks to the Anna and nods. The Anna nods back and goes outside the tent and closes the flaps.

Carp, have to figure out a way out of this...Do I charge him?

No bad idea, I don't have a weapon...should I grab one?

But even if I do, this guy would probably be on me by then...throw the wooden board at his face and run?

No too desperate, wouldn't distract him for long...plus there's that Anna to deal with. While this guy doesn't appear to have a weapon, the Anna has a sword.

Damn it, if there's a way out I don't see it...

"Are you done analyzing me?" The man asks as he approached me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked gripping the wooden board. Crap, he figured out what I was thinking...who the hell is he?

"Oh come on," The man says as he stopped in front of me. "As a merchant I can recognize that look in your eyes. You're looking at your surroundings, trying to figure out a way to either fight me or run. With an almost feral like look as well, you've done this before haven't you?"

I gritted my teeth, this guy is pissing me off. Fuck it, I'll go with all three...have to wait for a chance...

"Oh, I've hit a soft spot didn't I?" He asks, giving me a mocking smile. "Apologies, but let me guess, a run away? No, posture is not defensive enough. Hmm, how about a-"

"Shut up!" I yelled, throwing the wooden board at him.

The board makes contact with his face, it stuns him long enough for me grab a random object. A small kitchen knife...

"Oh no you don't!"

The man in a blink of an eye, rushes towards me and grabs my arm. I struggled to break free but the man's grip was too strong. I try to punch him in his face, but he grabs that with his free hand. Then he moves my arms to the side and kicks me in the stomach. Forcing me to fall on to the ground in pain...

The man smirks at me as he twirled the kitchen knife...wait when the hell did he grab it!?

"I'm a little impressed," The man says, "Trying to distract me...going for a weapon, trying to counter me. Yeah I guess you are the real deal...and a dumbass."

"Who...the...hell...are you?" I painfully asked, I need to find another opening. But he has that knife now...

"Stop trying to fight and I'll explain," The man instructs, "After all I don't want to hurt a possible fellow earthling."

My eyes widen in shock at his words, he's from Earth? But how?

"E-explain." I say, grunting in pain a little. Damn it that hurts...

The man crouches close to the ground, looking at me with his dark eyes.

"I was once like you," The man starts to say, "I ended up in this world by unknown means, lost...but that was a long time ago."

He shakes his head, "Enough about myself, you want answers don't you? Well to start, you and I are what this world calls Outer Realmers, people from the Outrealms that end up in this one by unknown means."

"O-outer Realmers?" I asked, wincing a little at the pain. How hard did he kick me?

"Yes," He smiles, "That's what we are, same with the others..."

Wait...

"O-others, there's more like us?" I asked, sounding hopeful somehow.

The man stands up and moves back a little.

"Yeah, there is," He says, "What? You thought you were the only one? Heh, no worry it's what every one of us thought before we met each other."

He throws the kitchen knife into a pile somewhere. Then offers me his hand.

"Come on," He says still smiling. "Not going to talk to you while your down on the ground like that."

I stare at him, just who the hell is this guy? Knocking me down to the ground one minute then offering to help me up the next...His eyes scream confidence in what he's doing...

Fine, I play along...for now.

Reluctantly I take hold of his hand, the man easily pulled me up with no problem.

"Anna." The man calls out, "I'm done interviewing him, you can come in now."

A red-ish blur comes rushing in and stops at the man's side.

"Are you alright?" The Anna asks, then holds his face. "He didn't hit you too badly, did he?"

"Anna stop it," The man says, gently removing her hands. "Your embarrassing me...besides I'm fine. He's the one that needs help."

"And why should I help someone who tries hurt my dearest person?"

"Because your my favorite merchant girl." The man affectionately says. "So please help me, I'll reward you with something special."

Should I be embarrassed or sick at the fact these two are flirting with each other right in front of me?

"Well when you say it like that..." The Anna reaches into her pockets and pulls out a small object. Then tosses it at me.

I fumbled as it landed in my hands, huh? It's a bottle...

"If you drink that it will help with the pain." The Anna explains winking me. "It's a mild vulnerary."

Cautiously I removed the cap of it and sniffed at it. It doesn't smell bad...or smell at all for that matter.

"He's a careful one." Anna comments, snickering at my actions.

I ignored her as I took a tiny sip, then drank the whole thing. Huh, there's no flavor...

Slowly the pain began to subside then go away completely.

Well that was interesting...I guess I can cross 'Using Health Potion' off the list...

"So what now?" I asked as I tossed back the bottle to the Anna. "Mind telling me your name?"

The man smirked as he tilted his head, "My name is Jason, Mr. Strife, it is nice to meet another of my kind."

"Call me Leon," I say, crossing my arms. "Mr. Strife sounds weird, also 'my kind'? You make it sound like we're endangered species."

The ma-Jason chuckled at my words, "Well our numbers are limited after all, so we are endangered race."

"So there are more of us," I say, "Mind telling how many?"

"Last I check," Jason says, "It was nine."

"Nine?" I mumbled out loud. "Less than ten people from Earth are in this world!?"

Just how is that possible...

"Well with the addition of you," Jason says nonchalantly, "It officially makes it ten. There used to be more but..."

"But?"

"They died, if you add them then the number increases to twenty five."

Fifteen people died in this world!? But how!?

"Why should I believe you?" I asked, really am a little skeptical about it.

Jason merely shrugs, "I understand your doubts, as I had experienced them before. I guess the only way to prove it to you is to bring you to Ylisstol."

"The capital of Ylisse?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. "Why there?"

"Ironically it's the safest place for the majority of us." Jason chuckles a little. "There most of us easily found work, or joined the military. But none have interfered with canon."

"Why?"

"Well cause, one of us tried to but it didn't go well..."

What?

"What do you mean it didn't go well?" I asked getting suspicious of his words.

"That is a matter for another time," Jason says, eyes somehow looking sad. "I'm sorry but it is how it is."

Bullshit, what he just said is complete bullshit. What the hell is he hiding?

"Tch, fine." I simply say, trying to sound bored. "One last question."

Jason tilted his head again, looking curious.

"How long have you been in this world? If you don't mind me asking that is."

"Well that one is simple...I've been here for five years."

What!?

* * *

Five years...five freaking years!

That's how long this guy's been here?

How the hell can a person live in another world for five years?

I guess he did alright since he's married to that Anna apparently. Still though, I can't grasp that idea...five...

I shook my head as I lie back on the chair, looking up at the cloudy sky above. It's been about an hour since Jason had told me that story of his. And all I can say is that about half of he said could be true...the rest may just be made up bullshit. Call it a mix of doubt and skepticism, even though they're kinda the same thing.

Anyway Jason had told me some other stuff as well. Like how the verse from Hellsing is written in English and should be impossible for anyone in this world to read or understand it. As well as his main job, beside being a merchant, is to find Outer Realmers like me, who have found themselves in this world. Lost and in need of help...

I believed some of what he said, but obviously he wasn't telling me everything. Probably thinks I won't believe whatever he says until he shows some kind of proof...how clever.

"And we're officially opening!" Anna says cheerfully, bringing me back from my thoughts.

I simply stared at her as she enthusiastically began bringing some items out of the tent. If coffee actually exists in this world...then she's probably has way too much of it.

"Announce it to the whole world why don't you." Jason mumbled as he carried out a barrel full of...brooms?

He places the barrel of brooms in front of the tent. Umm, I guess some people want to buy brooms...

"Hey Leon," Jason says looking at me, "Can you help me carry something out?"

I stare at him then simply nodded, not like I got anything else to do. I got up from the chair and moved towards him.

"What do you want me to help carry?" I asked, Jason motions me to follow him inside.

"Here," He says, "It's some exotic armor I got for a cheap price."

He goes behind a shelf and I follow him.

Whoa, that armor is...

"Is that samurai armor?" I asked bewildered by the sight before me.

Jason nodded as he gripped the support holding the armor in place.

"Yes, technically it's Chon'sin heavy armor, it was being sold at a western port in Plegia."

"What's something from Chon'sin doing in Plegia?" I asked gripping the support.

We lifted it up gently and began moving.

"Well, it's a rare item in the collectors market." Jason said as we move past the shelf.

"People actually collect this stuff?" I asked, careful in where I step.

"You be surprised." Jason simply says, "They pay pretty well for this stuff. Okay let's set it down here."

We place the armor to the left of the front of the tent. It glistened in a silver like color, wow it looks pretty nice.

"You pulling that out honey?" Anna asks as she steps next to us and observes the armor. "It's about time you showed it off..."

Jason laughed as he sat down in the chair I was sitting in earlier.

"By the way Leon," He says looking at me seriously. "How did you manage to find this village?"

"Oh, um, well I was traveling with-"

"There you are."

I turn to in the direction the voice came from. Then I froze in my tracks...

There she was, somehow looking pissed with that damn mask, the future princess Lucina.

Oh, right I ditched her at the entrance a little while ago...CRAP!

"H-hey...Marth," I say nervously, "Um...how did you find me?"

"That is not important." She says, voice sounding forced. "What is th-"

"So this is your companion?" Jason asks, interrupting whatever Lucina was going to say.

He walks up to her, staring at her with his dark eyes. Lucina glared at him, she looked ready to defend herself if needed.

"Say Leon," Jason says as he looked back at me, "I decided something..."

"What?" I asked, confused by his words. "What do you-"

"I know you are desperate for something," Jason says, interrupting me. "As you were trying to negotiate with me, but remind me...what was it your trying to gain?"

My eyes widen at his words, wow he's playing her. He's making Lucina think that I was trying to talk him into giving us passage to the tournament. But he shouldn't know where as I was in the middle of a 'negotiation'. Heh, what a clever bastard.

Alright then, I'll play along...this should be fun.

I smirked as I crossed my arms, "Well as I going to say, we need passage to the Western Capital. My friend and I have business there."

Jason smirked at me, "Well that is a little far, hmm let me think...Anna be a dear and fetch me my sword."

"Right!" The Anna says cheerfully, she dashes into the tent. Jason walks away from Lucina and towards me.

"I decided that I will give you passage..." He paused as he stops in front of me.

"What's the catch?" I asked, a little confused in his choice of words. Where's he going with this?

"Oh that is a simple thing." Jason says, "We have to play a little game."

"Game?" I hear Lucina ask, she sounded pretty suspicious.

Jason turned his head toward the princess.

"Yes, a game...one your friend must beat me in."

"Here it is." The Anna says as she came rushing back out. She was holding an English looking broadsword...whoa that thing is long.

"Thank you dear," Jason says as he takes the sword from Anna and straps it to his side.

Lucina was still silently glaring at him, her hands were getting a little close to the Falchion. She's expecting a fight...but will there actually be one?

"Ah, it feels nice to have a weapon at my side." Jason says, he looks back at me. "Say Leon you have any combat experience?"

I shook my head as I tilted my head. "Why do you ask?"

Jason chuckles as moves away from me.

"Are you familiar with the Ten Pledges?"

My eyes narrowed at his words...what does he...Oh!

"...Yeah I'm familiar with them." I say smirking a little. "Created by a god named Tet, or at least what the legend says."

Jason turned towards me, smirking at me again.

"Pledge Three, do you remember it?" He asks, sounding like he was enjoying this.

I nodded as I closed my eyes, "Pledge Three: In games, each player will bet something that they agree is of equal value."

I opened my eyes and stare at him. "What do you want if I lose to you?"

Jason's smirk goes away as he sighed. Then he points at something behind me, most likely at the princess.

"How about your friends sword and mask?"

"Absolutely not!" Lucina yells as she moves right next to me.

"Ah, but unfortunately that is not up for you to decide...Marth." Jason says, smirking at the princess. "If you want a chance to make it to the tournament in time, then you must rely on the decision of your friend there."

I gritted my teeth, okay he's going a bit too far with this. But is he actually speaking the truth? Or is he just bullshitting both of us?

...Screw it...let's see how far I can take this...

"Marth," I looked at her, "Do you trust me?"

Lucina simply stared at me, not even saying a word.

"I thought so..." I looked at Jason. "How about we increase the odds a little?"

Jason tilted his head at me, seeming to be curious by my words. Okay, let's hope he picks this up...

"How about instead of one game, we play two?" I asked as I tilted my head, appearing to be arrogant. "If we win...then you'll supply us with needed equipment."

"Oh? And if you lose?" Jason asks, sounding a bit curious.

I smirked as I crossed my arms...this better work or I'm dead...

"You can choose what to do with me..." I simply say, "I only ask that you leave Marth out of this bet."

Jason laughed at my words, somehow it didn't feel insulting.

"Why would you do this noble offer?" He asks, "Why place your life?"

He actually sounds curious...

I shrugged, "Marth saved me a few times, least I could do is pay him back."

"Well then...it appears we are at an agreement." He does a polite bow, "Meet me at the entrance of the village when you are ready."

He looked at the Anna, she nodded to him as he got up and walked away.

One, two, three...and he's gone. Okay...

What the hell was I thinking?

"Why?" I hear Lucina ask, her voice was low close to a whisper.

I looked at her, crap how an I going to explain myself?

"Why are you risking your life for me?" She asked, her voice sounded a bit worrying.

"It's like I said...you saved my life, least I could do is pay that back." I say, smiling a little at her.

"You did not have to do that..." She whispers as she looked away from me.

What is her problem...really why the Lucina of this world...weird? This is really bothering me...this Lucina is out of character yet in character at the same time. It doesn't make any sense at all...

"Say how close are you two?" The Anna asks, "Both of you seem like you've known each other for quite a while..."

What!

"W-what are you talking about?" I asked, as I looked at her. My face is heating up a little. Damn it, she might think or say something wrong...

The Anna smirks as she winked at me, "Hmm, nothing to be concern with handsome..."

I just stare at her, really not going to say anything? Damn you, you merchant clone...

Wait did I just...dammit...

I sighed as I looked back at Lucina. The princess was still looking away from me and staying silent.

"So let's get going Marth..." I start to say, "We're not going to beat that guy standing here."

* * *

"Ugh, what took you so long?" Jason asks, sounding annoyed.

Hmm, I guess he's not a patient merchant...

"Kept you waiting, huh?" I asked in a mocking tone. Heh, always wanted to say that...

"Hm, so are you ready or not?" The merchant asks, still sounding annoyed.

"Name your game and I'll name ours." I say, crossing my arms.

Jason smirked as he motions us to follow him.

"I don't want to do this here, so follow me I know a good spot not far off."

Okay that is bit off...why do this outside the village? That's too weird...

"Marth," I whispered as I fall in next to Lucina.

"What is it?" She simply asks, her voice was low and barely audible. At least she's using her normal voice...

"Call it a tactician's feeling, but we might be moving into a trap." I simply whispered to her, "Just to be sure, be on your guard."

"I...understand," She whispers back, then becomes silent again.

I nodded and moved ahead of her.

Yeah, I don't trust people that easily...Meh, call it a mixture of paranoia and experience.

We walked for a few minutes, then stop at small clearing. By clearing...I mean a bunch trees that are far apart enough for us run around in, without smacking into anything.

It's good...for a sword fight or an ambush...

"Now then," Jason said as he stops ahead us, "Who starts first?"

Both me and Lucina stay silent as we stared at him.

He smirked as he tilted his head, "Alright then, my game is simple, one of you answers three questions, if you get at least two right then you win."

"What are these questions?" Lucina asks, voice once again sounding forced. I'm really getting annoyed by that...

"These questions," He starts to say, "Can only be answered by those who are from the same place as I am from."

"Meaning me." I stated as I crossed my arms. "Your saying that since were from the same country, I should know the answers..."

Jason nodded as he pointed at me.

"Yes, call it a chance to prove yourself," He says, smirking at me. "As there still is a chance...of who you say you are is false...as it has happened before."

Really, he doubts what I say as well? Actually I wouldn't be surprised...I don't fully believe him as well...clever bastard...

He's using this to see if I really am from Earth. As well as possibly helping Lucina in the process, but it could be the other way as well. He could be someone who kills anyone like me...to not interfere with whatever he is doing. That or a knowledgeable Grimleal spy...does he think the same with me as well? Me as spy for the Grimleal to lead Lucina astray and possibly kill her?

As it has happened before...whatever the case, no matter the outcome it would be two birds with one stone for either of us...

Alright then...let's play this game.

"Name your questions." I stated, have to be ready. He could end up asking questions only those from Earth only know. But what? It shouldn't be anything related to this world, cause that would be too easy...

Damn it, what would he ask?

"Who are the patriots?" He asks, then become silent.

What? Is that all?

"Um...which ones are you talking about?" I asked tilting my head in confusion. "Cause there are literally hundreds of ways I can answer that."

Jason chuckled at my words, "Heh, fine I'll give you a hint, three letters M.G.S."

M...G...S...how can...oh! He means that one...

"Laliluleo." I simply say, shrugging. It's either that or the other thing...but I doubt I have the time to explain Artificial Intelligence...

"Well that's the right one..." Jason says, "But that was an easy one..."

He's being a bit dramatic with this isn't he?

"Next one.." He says as he crosses his arms, "The name of the Teigu, Esdeath wields."

Crap...he had to go there. Come on, think...what was that damn thing's name? I don't remember if there was a name at all...crap I'm screwed on this one.

"I don't know that one," I give up, I haven't seen that anime in awhile.

How the hell did this turn into a game of trivial knowledge? I know that is about questions about Earth, but why on anime and games? Where's he going with this?

"Well that's alright." Jason says, "One win for you and one win for me...careful with the next one, if you answer it wrong you lose this game."

"But there's still ours to fall back on." I stated, yeah I hope it doesn't come to that...

"Oh, we never agreed on the terms of winning did we?" Jason asks, wait...he's right we didn't we just went on with it.

Are we really that stupid?

"Right," I start to say, "Okay then how about this, if I fail on the last question...then we do our game. Though with a reduced reward if we win."

"And that'll be?" The merchant asks, sounding a little relieved.

"If we lost yet win the other game, then we just passage to the Western Capital." I shrugged. "We can make do without the equipment, cause ether way we win. So I guess if I answer this last one right then we don't have to do the other game."

Really would be a waste of time if we do the other one...besides that one is supposed to be contingency. By contingency...I mean winging it...yeah I'm not much for pretending to be a tactician anyway.

"I suppose that's fair," Jason says, he snaps his fingers. "Alright last question, possibly the hardest one."

I simply nodded, Lucina has been quiet the entire time. Is she on her guard, or just watching us with a form of curiosity?

"Here it is, It is everything yet nothing, but can become anything. It's name is part of the sky yet white as snow. In a world that is a board of games, what is the name of this entity?"

Well that's a complex one, he wasn't kidding when he said it was hard.

Okay, everything yet nothing...becomes anything...sky and white...board of games...entity...

Wait!

Sky...is Sora, White...is Shiro, world that is a board of games...that's disboard!

But it's not either of those...unless...Sora plus Shiro equals...

"...Blank.." I say grinning like a complete idiot. "The answer is Blank..." As it never loses and can become anything...not gonna say that out loud. Would be too embarrassing...

"Well then..." Jason smirks as he walks up to us. "You have earned your passage, and it's nice to know that you really are like me."

Must resist urge to pump fist in the air...must resist...

Still with this outcome and the questions Jason had asked me...I guess I'll trust his word for now, but if he does anything that threatens me or Lucina. Then I'll have Lucina stab him...slow and painfully...

"So you are of his country." Lucina says with her obvious fake male voice.

Jason chuckles, "Um, Marth for whatever reason you hide your voice, please speak normally. It's hard to resist the urge to laugh at it."

Crap...

I glanced at the princess, she's having a stare off with Jason. Great, she's going to kill our only ride and my possible connection to home...

"H-how did you know?" She asks her voice normal again. Oh what relief to hear that natural voice...it sounds so much better...

Jason chuckles again, "It's a trick I picked up as a merchant, but your voice was too obvious. Still for whatever reason why your hiding your gender, is your own so I won't ask." Likely cause he already knows...clever bastard.

"Anyway..." I say bringing their attention towards me. "Let's head back, also Jason how soon can we leave?"

The merchant tilted his head, appearing as if he was in thought.

"...Well, I'd say by tomorrow. I'd have to tell Anna that we're leaving early..."

I nodded, "Right thanks..."

"Anything for someone of my kind."

There he goes again with 'my kind', seriously why say it like that?

Meh, I'll ask later.

* * *

"So...why the hell didn't you tell me!?" Jason whispers.

"Um...what are you talking about?" I asked, confused by his words.

"The fact that you were traveling with her!" The merchant discreetly points at Lucina. Who was being distracted by the Anna. By distracted...I mean the fact that Anna is offering Lucina random dresses.

The princess is doing her best to ignore the annoying redheaded merchant. Though every once and a while...she tries to be discreet when looking a horrible dress. I mean the thing is mixed in with a lot of colors that brings a painful sight to look at.

How the hell can a dress be mixed with magenta, blue, red, and silver! That thing should be burned for being so disgusting...

Still Lucina glances at the thing then looks away when the Anna brings out a better looking dress.

It's been a couple of hours since I won the 'game' Jason had made up. Still a clever bastard...why? Cause remember when I said that he'll provide us new equipment? Well somehow he was able to say that he didn't need to provide us equipment from his shop. No, he will provide the necessary funds to purchase the equipment from other shops.

What an asshole...I took a look at his shop again, and the bastard has much better quality equipment then whatever the other stores got! Cheap bastard...spending a little to save his more valuable items...

"I was going to say it, but she had arrived." I finally say, sounding a little annoyed.

"Well you should have mentioned it sooner.." The merchant mumbles, he motion me to follow as Anna dragged Lucina to another tent. This one was filled with more clothes...

"How many clothing tents are there?" I wondered out loud. At least this one has a selection for men...

"Hey Leon look at this one." The Anna shows off a pair of pants, or trousers as this world calls them.

Wait...

The trousers were long and black, it look like it was reinforced around the knees and legs. Huh, those are interesting ones...plus it has pockets and it's in black!

"Is that my size?" I asked eagerly as I made my way toward them. Please be my size...it really does match my jacket.

"Do you like them young man?" The shopkeeper asks I as I took the trousers from Anna. They felt hard yet soft somehow like some sort of leather...it looks about my size.

"Yes, but where did you get these?" I asked, these don't seen like the typical attire to wear on a normal day.

"Oh, I purchased these off a farming village." The shopkeeper says, "It was a rather skilled boy that made it."

"How much?" The Anna asks, sounding a little cheerful.

"Oh this...around forty gold." The shopkeeper says a bit confidently.

"Really..." The Anna says as she takes the trousers away from me. "Hmm..."

She feels the trousers with her hands then stretches them. She flips them inside out and then sniffs at them.

"What is she-"

"Shh kid," Jason whispers, "Watch an Anna work this down..."

The Anna stares at the trousers with a serious look. There was something odd behind those crimson eyes of hers. Finally she flips the pants back to normal and looks at the shopkeeper.

"Mmm, forty is too much with this craftsmanship." She says.

"Huh?" The shopkeeper asks, visibly taken back by her words.

"Yeah, this is clearly been made by an amateur." She says presenting the pants to the shopkeeper. "The stitching is well done but it lacks the the needed amount to make it durable enough for your price range."

She tosses the trouser back to me.

"Let's make it fifteen gold and you have a deal." She winks at the shopkeeper and does her trademark pose.

Wow, the way she spoke was so...professional compared to her normal cheerful attitude. She's a succubus! But instead of stealing a person's life force, she steals the very gold from your coffers.

Damn my wild imagination...

"...Deal." The shopkeeper says reluctantly as she pull out a coin purse.

I ignored them as I looked at the trousers again...they do look nice.

I shook my head as I folded the pants and put them over my shoulder.

"Alright," Jason starts to say, "Let's find something for Marth."

"I don't need anything." Lucina immediately says, voice sounding forced again. Oh, we're in public so she's using that fake voice...right forgot about that...

Really is annoying...

"Nonsense," Jason says as he patted me on the back, "Hey Leon, why don't you take Marth and go on ahead. I'll stay behind an make sure nothing back at the shop is stolen."

My eyes widen at his words, "Really, ditching us already?"

"Nah, just helping someone out," He says as he gives me a coin purse. "You'll understand when your older."

What the hell is he...

Jason pushes me and waves me off. I discretely flip him off with my middle finger.

The merchant laughs as he moves over to the Anna. What an asshole...

"So," I start to say as I approached Lucina. "Want to just look around?"

The princess stays silent, well this is going to be fun...

"Come on," I say motioning her to follow. "I might find something you like."

Lucina is still silent but she follows after me. Better then being stuck with that Anna I bet...

We move back through the other clothing shops we passed before.

Then we pass by the store with the horrible dress...okay three, two, one...

Right on que, the princess glances at the dress then looks away as soon as she noticed me staring. Oh not this time...

"Hmm, you like it don't you?" I whispered as I approached the shop.

"No...I.." Lucina starts to say but fumbles in her words. She's...embarrassed? Well that's interesting...

"I'm not surprised," I say as I picked up the dress. "It is...unique in it's own way." Similar to the person I'm currently looking at.

"Yes..it is.." She whispers as she slowly approaches me. "It is...nice to look at." It's obvious that she's doing her best to not grab the dress and look at it up close.

Well...I'll help her with that.

I toss the dress to her and turned, "Oi, shopkeeper how much for that dress?"

"Oh, that...five gold." The shopkeeper, a women says. Heh, bet she's surprised that someone is actually buying the thing. Five gold...

I opened the coin purse in my hand, okay one, two, three...yeah this is enough.

"Deal." I said as I approached the shopkeeper, I handed her the correct amount. She politely thanked me as I walked back to Lucina.

The princess was just staring at me as she held the dress in her hands. She looked torn at getting angry or confused by my actions.

Meh, don't really care.

"W-why?" She whispers, sounding a bit surprised and confused.

I take the dress from her hands and swing it over my shoulder right over the trousers.

"Cause I felt like it." I simply say, shrugging as I moved on ahead of her.

Lucina quickly caught up with me.

"Wouldn't it be considered strange for a man to buy a women's dress?" She asks, "Aren't you worried what people might think?"

...Didn't expect her to ask that, a bit surprised she knows that...then again, she's different from the Lucina I know of...

"Meh, don't really care what people would think." I shrugged as I looked at her. "And besides...for all they know I could be buying it for someone else."

Lucina doesn't say anything else, she quietly follows me as we move through the tents.

A few minutes later we arrived back at Jason's and Anna's tent/shop.

With Jason and Anna waiting for us...wait is that a huge sack of gold on Anna's lap?

"Hey guys." I say as we approached them. "What's with the huge bag?"

Anna giggles as she held the bag to her chest.

"We finally sold that Chon'sin heavy armor." Jason explains as he patted Anna on the head. "And got a good price, heh you should have seen the guy that bought it. He was definitely a collector."

The Anna giggles again as she looks at me.

"Hey Leon, what's with the dress?" She asks tilting her head.

"Oh, something I want to work on." I say smirking a little. "By the way Anna do you know how to stitch and sow?"

She nodded as she closed the bag of gold.

"Why do you need me to fix those rip trousers of yours?"

I shook my head, "Know but I need your help with something."

I looked at Jason, "Mind if I borrow her?"

The merchant merely nodded as he approached Lucina.

Okay then, time to get this thing done.

* * *

OW!

I cursed as I remove the needle from my finger. Damn it, have to be more careful that's the fifth time I hurt myself.

At least I didn't hit a vein...

"Again?" Anna asks as she easily stitches the fabric together. Man, she's better then me at this...

"Yeah, don't worry I'm fine." I stubbornly say, I place the needle in the my little piece of fabric.

Almost done...just a little more...

"So.." The Anna say as she expertly places the needle through the fabric. "Why are you doing this for Marth?"

I chuckled a little as removed a needle from the fabric.

"Let's just say it's something to cheer her up." I say, examining my creation. Needs a bit more color...

"Why cheer her up?" The merchant asks as she tears a piece of the fabric away.

"I'm tired of her not smiling." I simply say as I tie the a fabric with another. "It's just sad and annoying...plus..."

"Plus?" Anna asks as she ties the end of her fabric with mine.

"I just feel sorry for her..." I simply say as I tighten the fabric. "That girl has been through too much."

"From what Jason had told me..." The Anna starts to say, "It's hard to imagine someone going through that..."

I stopped and looked at her, "How much has Jason told you?"

Anna smirked as she tighten her end of the fabric.

"Well, he's told me a lot." She explains. "It was hard to believe at first, but once one of my sisters told me about the outrealm gate. It became clear that it was true."

"Wait, your sisters know about us?" I asked, a little surprised by that.

The merchant nods and winks at me.

"Yeah, a good number of them do." She says, "Also a lot of them have been asked to find and direct Outer Realmers to Ylisse. The idea was mine actually..."

Heh, that's interesting...actually it's pretty damn clever. With Anna's scattered all over this world, an idea like that increases the chances to find others like us. But how can they tell if their not from this world? Do they ask questions like how Jason did with me? Or some other way...

"Um, Leon..." Anna says bringing me back from my thoughts.

"I...I'm sorry for asking but..." The merchant looked nervous, her cheeks were heating up a little. "In your world, the stories of this world...did it show one of my sisters as a gold obsessed trickster of a merchant?"

I have no idea how to respond to that...screw it.

"Um, it kinda did show one of them like that..." I start to say, "But she was alright when you figured her out."

The Anna nodded as she looked away from me.

"I thought so..."

Okay what ever that was about...I'll ask later. For now just finish the little project I got cooking up.

Hope it's worth it...

* * *

"Hey Marth," I say as I approached Lucina. Hands behind my back, keeping the project hidden from her view.

She quietly stared at me and tilted her head a little bit.

"Yeah, I'm wearing the trousers Jason had Anna purchase." I said as I discreetly sat down in front of her. Hands still behind my back...

"What are you holding?" The princess asks still staring at me.

I smirked a little as I playfully tilted my head.

"Remember when I bought that dress?"

Lucina nodded looking like she's suspicious of me.

Okay have to be careful now...no sudden moves...

"Well we both know that you can't wear it...for obvious reasons." I say, still smirking at her. "So I thought of the next best thing..."

"That is?" She asks sounding cautious.

"I had Anna help me knit it into this..." I slowly bring my arms forward, presenting the project.

The princess stared silently at the creation Anna and I had made.

"We teared it apart and knitted it into a scarf..." I slowly say, "It still holds the colors the dress, but it's much smaller and easier for you to wear..."

It's true with that, Anna and I carefully teared the dress apart, and used the scraps to forge it into a scarf. I had Anna place it into a pattern so it could look a little alright. Silver, Blue, Red and Magenta...in that order to create the weirdest thing I have ever done. Though it's not that long, maybe two feet or so. I wanted it to be three feet, but we ran out of scraps to use as the previous attempts ended in disaster. The one I'm presenting to Lucina is the fourth and only one that is actually usable.

The other ones were either too horrible to look at, or not actually usable as Anna had explained a little in how to make a usable scarf.

"So what do you think?" I asked, "I know it's not long for a regular scarf...but-"

Lucina slowly takes the scarf away from my hands. I quickly closed them to hide the number of cuts I had on them. I suck with needles...

"It's.." The princess slowly says, holding the fabric close to her chest. "It's...beautiful...but why would you do this?"

Heh, she likes it...don't know if that's a complement on my possible skills...as she had liked that damnable dress in the first place. For all I know it could the most horrible thing one can ever conceive.

"I wanted to give a gift to a friend." I simply say shrugging a little bit. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"You think of me as a friend?" She asks, sounding a little surprised.

I shrug again as I crossed my arms.

"Well, you did save my life on multiple occasions, chose to trust me in situations others might not of. Plus you did agree to help me learn how to use a sword. And though you seemed annoyed by me, you never asked me to leave or abandoned or killed me while I was asleep." I summed up as I looked directly at her. "That for me, is enough to consider you a friend...Marth."

Lucina stares at me in what appeared to be in shock. Heh, didn't expect that did you princess?

She looks away from me, um did I say something wrong?

"Thank you...Leon" She whispers, her voice barely audible.

My eyes widen in surprise at her words...she said my name...the fake name I gave her...

Heh, that's good...

I simply nodded as I got up and left her alone with the scarf.

I made my way towards the tent, the flap was half opened. Letting light slip in...yeah I get the feeling that I was watched. I can guess just who...

"Well that was impressive..." Jason commented as I entered the tent.

"How long were you watching?" I asked, glaring at him. It's obvious that he meant about the whole gift thing.

The merchant smirked as he closed the tent flap, then crossed his arms.

"Long enough..." He says, "It's cute that you managed to get a C ranked support."

"Tch, really? That reference?" I asked, "Heh, let me guess...your going to ask why I'd actually did it?"

"Normally I would but not this time." The merchant says, shrugging a little. "Call it a merchant's instinct, but you seem pretty okay with your intentions."

He tilted his head as he smiled, "From what I observed and what Anna had told me, I believe that your not a threat to that princess."

My eyebrow twitched a little as I sighed. Damn, I had half hoped that he was an enemy...well there goes my torture plan.

"You were making sure I wasn't some sort of spy." I stated as I crossed my arms. "And if I was a threat, you would have handed it carefully."

The merchant nodded at my words.

"With the help of Anna mind you." He says, "Not only I'm supposed to find our kind, but take out those who can threaten us."

"So does that mean the Grimleal know of us?" I asked, "As from what I can tell, they are possibly one of few things to know of us."

Jason shook his head, "Luckily they don't at least not yet anyway, not until the major events happen."

"So the whole 'not interfering with canon' thing was a lie?"

"Yes, I was merely saying that in case you were an actual spy." He says, "Sorry about that by the way..."

"It's understandable..." I merely shrug, "Would have done it myself."

"Yes, new problem though," He says, "I need to take you back to Ylisse but your traveling with her...how do I take yo-"

"I'm helping that princess in the tournament," I say interrupting Jason. "She needs to beat Lon'qu, and lose against that dense prince."

"Problem is that you need to get there," Jason snaps his fingers, "Which is why I'm helping you out, then after the tournament I-"

"I'll still travel with 'Marth'," I interrupted him again, "Unlike most of those fanfictions you probably read, I want to travel with her and help her out."

The merchant stared at me in shock, probably thought I would travel with him and abandon Lucina. Fat chance at that...

"Why do you want to travel with her?" He asks, "Unlike the main events, we have no idea what she does before she joins the shepherds."

"Then I'll find out." I merely shrug at him. "Call it curiosity and boredom."

Jason's jaw dropped at my words, if only there was a fly...then he'd be tasting something crunchy.

"You would not only risk your own life, but the lives of everyone in this world...to satisfy your curiosity?" He almost yells, but suppresses it to not gain the attention of Lucina. "You are insane..."

I merely shrugged as I playfully tilted my head.

"Meh, not really sure about that," I start to say, "But I haven't really decided on that, meh, I could end up changing my mind, or not. Makes no difference to me."

"Your insane..." The merchant repeats himself, "Damn, fine but don't do anything tha-"

"That threatens her, or this world's future." I say finishing for him. "Yeah, I understand that."

Jason smirked as he waved me off, he went to the tent.

Not wanting to be near him, I opened the flap and stepped outside. The sky was getting dark, going to be nighttime soon enough.

I shrugged to myself as I walked back to were Lucina was. Right now I need to be somewhere a little quiet...

I say nothing to the princess as I sat down near her. I pulled out the journal and a mechanical pencil.

* * *

_Leon Strife (Real name: XXXXXXX)_

_Class: Tactician and Outer Realmer_

_Species: Human_

_Woke up in this world for an unknown reason._

_Plans to help Lucina cause she had saved his life._

_Has no goals so is a wanderer...scratch that he wants to help._

_Why? Survival...that simple._

I quietly laughed to myself as I put the journal away.

Okay, that was just for laughs, I wasn't being serious with it. Besides...I'm getting bored again.

"What was that you were writing with?" I hear Lucina ask.

"Huh?" I looked at her, she was staring at my hand. Oh, I forgot to put away the mechanical pencil.

"Oh, it's a mechanical pencil." I merely say, twirling the writing utensil. "It's able to write without the need of an ink well. So it's like a quill but different."

"...May I see it?" She asks sounding curious. Somehow I don't see a problem with that...

"Alright just be careful with it." I say, gently tossing it towards her.

The princess easily caught it, she stared at the thing curiously.

"It uses a type of material called graphite." I explained as she twisted it around. "It is able to stick onto paper like ink, but it's different."

"Different how?" She asks, looking at me. "Does it run out?"

Damn it, I think it be better if I show her...

I moved towards her and stop just next to her.

"Here let me show you." I say, slowly taking out the journal.

Right when I take it out, Lucina immediately swipes it from my hands and moves back.

"H-hey!" I yelled out as the princess flipped the journal open.

Crap! She's going to read what I wrote down, then kill me!

Lucina read what I had in the journal, she flips through a few pages. I just stare at her in shock and fear.

"What...what language is this?" She asks, sounding completely confused.

I blinked, she...she doesn't know English?

That's...holy shit that was close, if she knew the language then I'd be dead.

Okay have to handle this carefully...

I quickly got up, walked up to her and take the journal back.

"Baka!" I yelled, "What the hell is with you taking my journal like that?"

Lucina stared at me in what looked like shock.

"Look," I say, trying to sound a little more calm. "If you wanted to look at it, you could have asked."

"I-"

"Were you that not trusting of me?" I asked sounding a little hurt, "I know I'm strange Marth, but I'm not a spy or anything like that."

I sighed as I put away the journal.

"I understand that you were being cautious of me." I say, crossing my arms. "But Marth, I'm supposed to be your tactician right? How can I help you if you don't trust what I say?"

The princess becomes quiet, staring at me with that damn mask of her's. I really want to break it...

Finally she sighs, "I..I am sorry...Leon. I wanted to be sure your story was...accurate."

So she didn't fully believe my story...I expected that...but not like this. I honestly thought she would take the journal...but only when I had left it out in the open or dropped it by mistake. This was just too desperate, even for her...I guess she is not like the Lucina I expected her to be.

That's make more dangerous in what I say and do. As she may react differently what I expect her to do...

I sighed as I turned and walked away from her. I stopped and looked at her.

"Look," I start to say, "I forgive you in your choice but I want to know if I can place my trust in you. So please trust me so I can trust you."

I closed my eyes and hold out my hand in her direction.

Okay, I don't know what doing right now, so I'm pretty much winging it.

Slowly I feel a soft warmness on my hand. I slowly opened my eyes, huh?

Lucina was standing right in front of me, her hand was in mine. Okay that's interesting...didn't expect her to do that...

"I..." She starts to say, "I'll trust you in your word Leon, Aschente."

Wait, did she just say Aschente!? Wow, she's actually trying...

"Then," I say, gripping her hand a little more firmly. "I'll trust you Marth, Aschente."

The princess nods she firmly grips my hand in response. Okay, she's definitely not what I expected...

"Aww! Their holding hands, how cute!"

Both me and Lucina looked in the direction of the voice.

Anna was standing near us with Jason by her side. Both of them were smirking at us...

Slowly me and Lucina let go of each other, and I coughed into my hand.

"What do you want Jason?" I asked, my face felt a little heated up. Damn it, they might get the wrong idea...

"Oh, just wanted to say that I have prepared beds for both of you." The merchant explains, still smirking. "As well as dinner."

"Thank you." Lucina says, preventing me from saying anything.

"Shall we go eat then?" Anna asks motioning us to follow.

Lucina stays silent as she moved on ahead following after the Anna.

Leaving me standing alone with Jason.

"Heh, trying to get a B rank already?" He asks, mocking me.

"Shut up!" I yelled at him as I brushed past him and headed towards the tent.

What an asshole...

* * *

**A/N: Whew that took forever to do...**

**This one is slightly longer than the last chapter, as I have been trying to increase the number of words per chapter.**

**So the same as usual, read, review, or look for something else that's better.**

**Though if your somehow still reading this, then I must be doing something that makes you look at this.**

**Either way it is your choice.**

**-Raiden312**


	7. Chapter 7

_Note to self...never leave something of value in front of Anna._

_I learned that the hard way last night, she saw me writing in the journal in the middle of dinner._

_And like the gold succubus she was, she swiped it from me before I could even react._

_That made it the second time (First was Lucina) that someone took this from me._

_She tried to make me buy it back, but she didn't really sound serious._

_She may have been playing around with me, b__ut it showed how careless I was being with it._

_Luckily Lucina had reacted to that by grabbing Anna by the arm, and 'politely' asking her to give it back._

_The look on Anna's face was just priceless, she gave it back with no further incident._

_Heh, I guess Lucina doesn't understand humor that well._

_Just like in the game..._

I sighed as I put away the journal, that really was a funny dinner...the meal itself was alright. Some meat, bread, cheese and grape juice...pretty medieval-ish.

Anna and Jason are packing the tent in, and loading on to their carriage. I did offer to help but Anna told me it wasn't needed, and boy was that true.

That woman was practically a demon! She along with Jason were able to remove everything from the tent, pack it into a bunch of crates and bring down the tent. The whole entire process took about an hour or so, wow they must of done plenty of times. Cause it did look as if they knew what they were doing...they were so in synch.

Jason is married to Anna...wonder how long exactly he has been S ranked with her? I'd say more than a couple of years...but that's my opinion.

Lucina has been quiet as usual...currently she's near me sitting right under a tree. Have no idea what she is doing by just sitting there and looking like she is thinking.

While I'm in the opposite side of her, sitting on the open cold ground. Looking up at the cloudy blue sky, with no idea what to do. Yeah, it's pretty much going to be one of those days.

I'm almost bored to the point where I want to sing something, but I seriously don't want to risk upsetting Lucina. That nightmare is still fresh in my mind...so I really don't want to take any risks on that.

Dammit, I seriously bored here!

"Leon." I hear Lucina say.

I sit up straight as I looked at her, the princess was on her feet and moving towards me. The rapier was in her hands, but it was sheathed.

What is she...

"It's time for your lessons," She simply says as she tossed the rapier at me. I caught the rapier fumbling it a little, but I was able to grip it.

"Stand up and draw the blade," The princess says, slowly drawing out the Falchion. "Then try to strike me..."

I stared at her, before getting up on my feet and unsheathing the rapier.

Finally! Something to kill the boredom and get my ass kicked at the same time! Oh how fun!

"Try to strike at you, huh." I simply say, taking up a random stance. "Trying to figure out a style to teach me?"

Lucina stayed silent as she slowly raised the Falchion, wait that form...it's like how she was in the game. One leg in front, the other in the back, the Falchion in her right hand but close to her left. The style her father taught her...she's being serious with this...okay then.

I smirked as I gripped the hilt of the rapier, she obviously holds the advantage over me in terms of skills and experience. The objective here is to learn from her reactions and techniques...so I'll do that!

I thrust the rapier at her, aiming straight at her chest. The princess easily blocked it, she pushes the sword upwards and strikes the rapier out of my hands.

The blade lands on the ground, and I step back as the tip of the Falchion was close to my neck. Yeah, that was shitty first attempt.

"You gripped the blade too much," Lucina says, lowering her blade from my neck. "Loosen it a little and it would be easier for you to hold."

"Okay," I merely say, as I moved to grab the rapier.

Note to self, don't try reckless frontal attacks anytime soon...or I might end up dead. So let's try something else...how about below?

I flipped the rapier and go into a reverse gripped stance. Similar to how it was in the game with the thief and assassin classes.

The princess tilted her head in confusion at my stance, I smirked at that.

I dashed forward towards her, she quickly brings up the Falchion. Not gonna fall for that again!

I stopped in my tracks and slash at her legs, the princess quickly jumps back making me miss. Damn...that was close...okay then how about this...

Dashing at her again, I bring the blade to her right side. She easily blocks me again and pushes me away. I flip the rapier forward and slash downward.

Blocked again...

"Dammit," I cursed under my breath as I stepped back. She's completely out of my league, can't attack from below or front. She's really skilled...wonder if her father taught her.

"Do you yield?" Lucina asks, she sounded like she was mocking me.

Really?

"Tch, as if." I say as I went into another random stance. "I'll keep doing this until I actually land a hit on you or collapse from exhaustion!"

I dashed forward with the rapier ready to strike.

For an entire HOUR, I tried numerous ways to land a blow on that princess. And I failed every single one...this woman is a DEMON!

I'm...completely winded out, I had to keep trying to hit her.

No matter what I did, either running at her, waiting for her to strike, or even taking some snow or dirt and throwing at her to gain an opening. I end up knocked down on my ass, or get kicked in the stomach. Or both as that happened right after I threw dirt at her face one time, yeah definitely deserved that...

Cause right now I'm currently on the ground clutching my stomach in pain.

Fuck it hurts!

"I-I'm d-done," I painfully groan out, looking at the princess. She was standing over me with the Falchion in her hands.

"Very well," She says as she motioned to put away the Falchion, but stops as I let out another groan. She stares at me, quiet while I was clutching myself in pain.

How hard did she hit me!? Crap it feels like she broke a rib...maybe two...not exaggerating.

The princess sighs as she quickly glanced around then brings the sword close to her face. The blade starts to glow as she is covered in a bright light...

Wait she's...

The light is directed towards me, a strange feeling ensues throughout my entire body as the pain subsided and faded away. Okay this is the third time she's healed me with that damn sword. I'm definitely going to owe her a lot...

"Thanks," I mumbled as I got up on my feet.

Lucina merely nodded as she sheaths her blade.

"So, I did bad didn't I?" I asked as I stretched my arms a little. "Cause I didn't even make a mark on-."

"Don't underestimate yourself," She says interrupting me. "You did attempt to adapt with your strikes."

"Yeah but it didn't give the result I wanted," I say, "You expertly blocked me at every try, and moved at a much faster speed. I'm out classed when compared to you."

"Yes, but-"

"Your an idiot!"

Both Lucina and I turned in the direction of the voice.

Jason was leaning next a tree, his English style longsword was at his side. The asshole was smirking as his head rested on his hands.

"Leon," He starts to say, "You are an idiot, when a lady like her is giving good advice like that. It's best to listen!"

"Why are you watching us?" I asked, sounding annoyed. Not even breakfast yet and he's already pissing me off...

"Heh, I have my reasons," He says, brushing off my question. "Say Marth, how about a friendly spar?"

The princess silently glares at him, giving the obvious answer 'no'.

"Alright then, I'll ask another time." The merchant shrugs, "Anyway, breakfast is ready and after that we'll make way to the Western Capital."

Finally, I was starting to get hungry...

* * *

"Still trying to get a B rank?"

"Shut up..." I muttered as I wiped the bowl.

Breakfast passed by really quickly, and I was actually enjoying the meat they had. I think it was goat or something...

Still, it left an important matter...dish cleaning duty. Jason had volunteered himself and 'enlisted' me to help him. In other words, he needed an excuse to be able to talk to me in private. Anna had asked Lucina to help bring the carriage over, since apparently the village has stables in the far back.

So they left it along with their horses, yeah it's pretty easy to see where this is going.

"So what do you talk about?" I asked, setting the bowl down. "It's obvious that you want to talk about our...situation."

"Heh, well ain't you a clever one." The merchant mutters, "Really though, it's about what you said last night."

"About me traveling with 'Marth'?" I asked, "Even after the event of the tournament?"

"Yes."

"What about it?"

"You do realize we have no idea what she had done when she was not following her father?" He asks, "Only a few events involved her before she joined the shepherds...the rest was-"

"Blank," I say interrupting him. "As for all we know, she could have been searching for the other children, or doing something else. Like what she did with me..."

"With you?" Jason asks, sounding confused. "What does that mean?"

I looked at him, "Jason, had anything strange happened since the Risen shown themselves?"

Depending on how he answers this, I may just tell him about the Risen Bear. If it's nothing but the expected outcome...then that bear should be an isolated incident. But my instincts tell me that there's something more to it...I need to find the answers.

"Hmm," He tilted his head, as if trying to remember something. "Nothing other then the fact they are walking corpses, so nothing out of the ordinary from canon."

That...was an interesting response. So was the Risen Bear an actual one time thing?

No, that can't be it...some thing isn't right. That thing had some form of intelligence...the way it acted was proof enough. But it was attacking Risen...it's own kind...it killed them and from what I remember what the village elder had said. The Risen around the area didn't attack when the bear had shown up.

Did someone resurrect that thing to defend the village? But if that's how it was...why was there an axe stuck to it's back? Did it go berserk? But if it did...why didn't it attack the village?

Damn it, I should of asked the elder more questions...then I might of figured something out. But I can't...and I can't go back cause I have to help Lucina.

Maybe after the tournament I can try to convince Lucina into going back to the village...but how?

"Um, Leon." Jason asks, bringing me from my thoughts. "You've been staring at the ground for the past few minutes."

"S-sorry," I say, looking back at him. "I was just thinking...maybe 'Marth' was looking for the other children, but couldn't find them cause of one reason..."

"And that is?"

"Time travel...is a bitch," I shrugged, "Since Laurent, Miriel's child, arrived earlier than Lucina. About five years before he was found by the shepherds. So why not-"

"The other children being the same," He finishes, snapping his fingers. "They do arrive but much later...since time travel isn't always a straight forward process."

I nodded, yeah I figured that idea before I arrived in this world. It's actually really simple if you have the basic understanding of time travel.

The understanding...time travel NEVER makes any damn sense and the world will always change in some way because of it.

Plus watching Steins;Gate helps a lot with the idea of time travel...at least it did with me.

"So it matters in the when of things," I muttered, tilting my head. "But we can't figure that out with just theories alone..."

"We need more intel." Jason stated as he put down the last bowl. Finally, we're done with the dishes!

"Yeah," I simply say, picking up the stacked bowls. "So where do I put these?"

"The crate next to you."

I opened the crate and gently place the bowls inside of it.

"So how long will it take us to get to the Western Capital?" I ask, closing the crate. "Cause the tournament should be starting in a week or so."

"Well...since we are traveling today," The merchant starts to say, "It should take us about three days or two if we are lucky to reach it."

"So that'll leave us four to five days..." I stated, "What do you mean 'if we're lucky'?"

He chuckles, "Well...there are tough weather days, animal attacks, and the occasional bandit raid."

Bandits...crap...

"B-bandit raids?" I nervously asked, "You mean where people try to rob you, and possibly kill you...or worse..."

"Oh, don't worry, it doesn't happen that often..." The merchant says, "If it does...then hide in the carriage while we take care of the badies."

Damn him...he's mocking me.

But still...if we do have to fight bandits...I'll have to fight humans...killing...death...

I shook my head as I adopted a fake grin.

"Yeah right, I bet your the one in the carriage while Anna fights." I say, trying to insult him.

"Heh, well I do have to protect the merchandise." Jason shrugs, brushing off my insult. What an asshole...

"Hey Boys!"

Both me and Jason looked in the direction of the voice.

My eyes widen a little at the sight before me.

Anna along with Lucina were driving a large and very red carriage stopping a short distance of us.

"Hey, come on," The Anna yells in her cheerful tone. "The carriage isn't going to fill itself!"

Jason smirked as he looked back at me.

"Right then Leon, let's do some elbow grease."

* * *

"_The gold never bothered me, as it fell into my hand, gently filling my fingers. Somebody make a profit! As it fills my mind with wonder..._"

"How long is she going to sing this!?" I groaned to Lucina as the Anna kept singing her terrible song.

Her voice is nice but the lyrics...

"_Somebody make a profit!_" Are just terrible...how the hell is Jason enduring this!?

The merchant was staring straight as he was guiding the horses. He seemed unaffected by Anna's terrible lyrics.

"_Oh, across the line the treasure lies!_"

Meanwhile Lucina and I are experiencing torture for our ears. Seriously, Lucina looks like she's doing her best and failing to ignore the singing redhead. I on the other hand, tried covering my ears to block out the song but it's failing as the Anna is singing very loudly.

"_Forget the silver, and preach for the gold!_" That line makes no sense!

"Damn..it..." I mutter as I looked up at the sky above.

After we packed the carriage with the stuff from Jason and Anna's shop. We made our way out of the village and headed east to the Western Capital. That was a couple of hours ago, so like in any long journey or road trip...it wasn't long before boredom hit.

Lucina has done nothing but stay quiet, occasionally she looks out into the distance. Unknown why...but when she's done she either looks forward or puts her head down. It's weird when she does that...it feels like she's waiting for an ambush. Though that does make a little sense...

Since she was raised in a terrible future...it must have been common to be ambushed by Risen...

Poor kid...

"_The rumbles never still as the desire is great._"

Poor kid...escaped a barren future...and end up having her ears bleed out because of a singing gold obsessed merchant.

"_Oh, cause we do-_"

"Anna please stop!" I yelled as I looked at the crimson haired merchant. "Your song is...okay...but can I sing something instead?"

The Anna stares at me with her mouth wide open. Please have a bug fly into it, oh please have a bug fly into it...

Finally she shakes her head and winked at me.

"Sorry handsome, but there's only one singer on this ride."

"And you don't want to challenge her." Jason says keeping his head forward. "Trust me, it's better to either ignore it or get used to it."

"Meanie," The Anna says, "You know you love them."

I ignored them as I glance back at Lucina, the princess is still quiet.

If I didn't know any better...I'd say that she was sleeping.

Damn it, I'm getting bored...

I sighed as I let my legs hang off the carriage, the thing was filled up with crates so it left no room for us to go inside. Even if there was room for us to go in...it would be a 'tight' fit and I don't want Lucina to stab me in the face if I accidentally bump into her.

So we did the next best thing, we placed ourselves on top of the carriage. Despite what I originally thought, it's actually somewhat comfortable, even though the carriage occasionally bumps up and down. The princess seems to be alright with it, as she's sitting with her legs hanging out. She actually looks a little relaxed, when she's doesn't look out in the distance...

Still really don't like that mask...

"Hey, Leon." Jason says, making me look at him. "What's your profession?"

Huh?

"What do you mean?" I ask, confused by his words.

"Well my profession or class is obviously merchant." He explains, "And my wife Anna is a merchant but is a little more of a trickster."

Said trickster pouted at his words, "Meanie."

"But I have been thinking," He says ignoring Anna. "What is your class? From the way you acted I'd say you qualify as a trickster or a thief, but that's not it is it?"

"Um...well," I nervously say, "I'm a tactician..."

Jason lifted his head and looked at me, seeming to be surprised by my words.

"Your...a tactician." He slowly says, "That's...unexpected...but I've heard worse."

Why does it feel like he's insulting me somehow?

"Meh, technically I'm in training..." I mutter, "But I do know somethings..."

Jason chuckled at my words, then looked back forward. Okay...what ever that was...he got what he wanted to hear. Makes me wonder what the other Outer Realmers are like...as well as if they know anything about getting back...

"Home..."

"Hmm, did you say something Leon?" Anna asks, crimson eyes staring at my brown ones.

"Oh...it's nothing." I say, trying to brush her off. Damn it...had to think of home...

Still though...is everyone back there okay? Do they know I'm missing?

If they do...are they looking for me?

I've been here for more than a week...how much time has passed over there...Days, Months, or even Years!?

What if they had already given up? What if they think I'm dead, and had forgotten about me?

What if...what if...Mom...Dad...what if...even her...

"Leon...your crying?" I hear Anna ask.

What...

Slowly I raise my hand to my face, she was right tears were trailing down my face.

"Damn it," I cursed under my breath as I jumped off the carriage.

"Hey! What ar-"

"I need time alone," I say not even looking in their direction. "I won't be long..."

Without waiting for a response, I dashed into the nearby forest.

* * *

"_What I'm seeing...is it real? What I'm feeling...is it real? What I'm doing...is it real? There is no regrets, satisfy my curiosities. There is a new world waiting, explore my possibilities. There is no __guarantee, just improve my abilities. There is a choice to make, setting the right-"_

"There you are."

I stop singing as I looked up. Lucina was in front of me, the Falchion was at her side. Without saying anything I look back down.

Great...she found me already...was hoping she wouldn't for another hour or two.

After I left the carriage, I ran for awhile then stopped and sat under a random tree. Then I just let it all out, the tears I was unknowingly holding back. I lost track of time, maybe an hour passed or maybe two. I don't know...I just sat there and cried like an idiotic baby.

Damn it, Lucina must of saw my face back at the carriage...now she probably thinks I'm a burden and will ditch me when she gets the chance.

I'm so pathetic...letting my fears and doubts take over and making me appear so weak...To the point where I was desperate enough to sing a random song, to try to calm myself down. So I could just go back and pretend this didn't happen...

Why had...

Something soft lands on my head, making me look up. The princess was crouched down...her hand was on top of my head.

Great...she's getting pay back.

"What are you doing?" I asked, staring at that damn mask.

"Helping a friend..." She simply said as removes her hand off of my head. Slowly she stands up and offers me her hand.

Really...damn that sense of nobility in her to help others...probably gets it from her father...

Reluctantly I place my hand in hers, the princess helped me up with ease.

"Let's go back..." She says, her voice was low yet soft somehow...

I simply nodded as she began to walk ahead but stops and looks back at me.

"That song..." She slowly says, "What is it's name?"

My eyes widen a little, "Well...um...it's name is 'God only knows'."

The princess tilted head a little, crap she might think it's religious or something.

"It's not religious if your thinking that," I immediately followed up, "It involves something else...it's from an old legend. About a god of conquest...but that's an old one and I don't remember it much."

She silently stared at me then turns around and walks away.

Great you made a harem anime into a thing of legend...way to go you perverted dumbass. Still it is funny, since Keima was a god of conquest, who conquests girls from the 2D world. And as Lucina is technically a 2D-ish character...it makes her right up Keima's alley.

Holy shit if Keima had somehow ended up in this world, it would be funny as hell to see his reaction to the fact that he's in a video game world. I think he would die of happiness...then die of despair when he can't find a way to charge his PFP's...

Crap Lucina's already ahead of me...dammit think of a potential crossover later.

For now just follow the princess...

* * *

_Two days have passed from that little outburst of mine._

_Nothing else had happened since, it was just completely boring._

_Except for the times Lucina was instructing me in my sword lessons._

_Those were fun...except when Lucina kicked my ass when I annoyed her._

_I had to keep throwing dirt and snow at her face, really wanted to knock that mask off._

_She's increased the lessons to twice a day since Jason is giving us a ride._

_I guess she wants some practice as well, even if it's one sided._

_Still, I'm making some progress...I learned how to properly hold the sword._

_But I've been doing it in my own way, though sometimes by accident I've been mimicking Lucina._

_Don't know why but I try some of the moves she does when she's giving me examples of slashes or thrusts._

_Meh, I guess I'm just weird like that...but I'm still far from actually using this in actual combat._

_That much is obvious..._

I sighed as I put away the journal, we still haven't reached the Western Capital...so that makes it one more day to go.

Which will leave us four days to get Lucina as the champion of Basilio, to do that she has to beat Lon'qu...but how did she do it?

Honestly I don't know how Lucina was able to beat Lon'qu...either she outsmarted him or was plain lucky as Lon'qu is a very skilled fighter. I loved using him in the game, I always paired him up with a compatible female character. Despite knowing his condition...

Still...if Lon'qu is as skilled as he was in the games, then I need to help Lucina figure out a way to beat him. It's not that I don't trust in Lucina's skill, there needs to be a contingency plan in case Lon'qu is more then she can handle.

But how?

I need some intel on Lon'qu, if this one is the version of how he was in the game. Then I might have an idea how to defeat him...

How do I gather information on the champion of the west Khan? Hmm...

Screw it I'll ask Jason...he might know something that can help the princess.

"Hey Jason," I say, resting my head on my palms. "Do you know anything about the champion of the Western Capital?"

"Why do you want to know?" The merchant asks, still looking straight.

"Well," I glanced at Lucina, she was quietly staring at the sky above. Either she's ignoring us or pretending to be uninterested, have to be careful in what I say next. Can't make her suspicious of me or Jason...

"I'm curious," I start to say, looking back at Jason. "I heard some rumors about him, but I wanted to know if you know any facts."

Come on you clever bastard, help me give a useful hint to Lucina. She needs all the help she can get...

"Well I have heard some things," The merchant starts to say, "Mostly about his skills and other things..."

"What are his skills?" I asked, pretending to be curious. "Any specific style or something like that worth mentioning?"

"I properly shouldn't mention this," He says, "But since your one of my kind, I'll make an exception."

Again with the 'my kind' thing...that's going to get annoying really fast.

"From what I heard the western champion or Lon'qu as they call him, is from another country and is highly skilled in the Chon'sin art of fighting."

"So he uses foreign techniques," I say, pretending to be interested. "So that makes it difficult to figure out his style."

"Yeah, don't know much about that myself," He shrugs, "But if you want that kind of information then you have to search around the Capital to find something useful."

"I figured that..." I muttered as I looked up at the night sky.

We've been traveling around for awhile, going as far as we can during the day and night. Tonight is no different, as it is in the final stretch to that damn capital. Though one thing repeats itself every night for the past few days.

I discreetly look at the person next to Jason, and snickered at the sight.

The gold obsessed merchant, Anna, was sleeping on Jason's shoulder. Funny thing about this is...she's drooling. Her drool is landing on Jason's shoulder, though it doesn't seem to bother him. She does this every night when Jason says he's going to pull an all nighter. Right after a slight disagreement between them, she does a small vain attempt to persuade Jason to rest instead of traveling.

But he whispers something to her, then the disagreement ends and Anna just lays her head on his shoulder then falls asleep.

Yeah, been watching them do that for the past few days...really feel like an ass for doing that. But when boredom and curiosity takes over...that happens...wonder if they care for the horses that are pulling the carriage? Cause he's been doing this for past few days...I'll ask him that later.

I look away from the couple and back at Lucina.

She was still looking at the night sky, my guess at the stars. They are rather nice to look at, even though they look nothing like the ones back at Earth. That kinda freaked me out the first time I saw them, since I was too used to the constellations back home. The ones here are...strange...I mean they are similar yet completely different to the ones back home.

Example...Orion doesn't exist here...but there is one similar to it, but it's missing a majority of it's structure. But somehow...it has the recognizable belt that Orion has...weird as that sounds. I'm not much for astrology...but that's how it looks to me.

Still, the princess is just staring at them...did she ever do that in that barren future of hers?

Meh, I'll push my luck a little...

Quietly I move across the top of the carriage and sit myself next to her. She doesn't say or do anything, it looked as if she didn't notice me. Okay then...

"Beautiful aren't they?" I asked in a low voice. Don't want to wake Anna up now do I?

Lucina looked at me, seeming to be confused by my words.

"The stars I mean," I say, looking up at the night sky. "The way they shine across the night, like far away lanterns." Damn me for watching cosmos...

The princess stayed quiet then looks back up.

"...Yes," She whispers, "They do look...bright."

My eyebrow twitched a little, really trying to get some of her emotion out. Why?

Cause she's just too quiet and somehow sad looking, this girl needs some joy in her life. Otherwise, what the hell is the point in her trying to save this world? That is actually the main reason why I paired her up with Robin in the game. I just felt sorry for her...

"You know..." I start to say, "There's an old legend that once said, that the stars...are other worlds each with their own struggles. Each with it's own pasts and futures...so similar yet different. Worlds of so many colors, bright or dark yet connected to all of us. Tied together with invisible bonds that tie us to unknown destinies, destinies that we can choose for ourselves. As strange as that sounds..."

Okay, I have no idea what made me say that...but as dramatic as it was, it might help.

"Heh, I know it sounds like a children's tale..." I chuckled as I stare at Lucina. "But still it's strangely fitting somehow..."

"How so?" She asks, tilting her head a little.

"Like I told you before," I sighed out, "It has something to do with the air you carry around you. Though I won't ask who exactly you are, as it is your business, I'll just trust that you mean well, in whatever your intentions are."

If this was normal case of two people not knowing each other...I would call it foolish. But since I know of her...whatever...

"Anyway, you should get some rest," I fake a yawn, "The Western Capital is close, night Marth."

I move away from her and laid back on the other side of the carriage.

Staring at the stars I raised my hand towards them. Then smirked as I closed it into a fist.

Heh, soon I'll see the main cast of this story.

Chrom...Lissa...Fredrick...and Robin. As well as the other shepherds...but not like those four.

Especially Robin...that one is a mystery until I see his or her face. Though part of me hopes it's the male Robin...Lucina does need some joy after all...

Whatever the case...I can't wait to actually see them...

Cause it's going to be fun...

* * *

**A/N: Short chapter this time cause of...personal matters...mostly sickness.**

**Read, Review, or look for a hopefully better fic to read.**

**Tis your choice**

* * *

**RoseWarden: Yeah a bit of a strange twist in putting people like Leon in this...I guess we'll see how that goes. Hopefully not disappointing. **

**Multidimensional connections of other worlds or influences from other games or anime you mean?**** Maybe or maybe not...depending how it goes but we'll see...**

**Anna was fun to do, even though this one is a sister of the one recruited into the shepherds. Oh and we're definitely going to see more of the Anna's...have a lot of personalities to try out. **

**Yeah it is a lot of original content to figure out with Lucina, hopefully I can do something decent with it.**

**Angel Of Darkness And Light: (Nice name by the way.)**

**Yeah it seems like things might end up going to hell. Or maybe not...we'll have to wait and see...**

**Interesting speculation you have there on Lucina's possible knowledge of the song.**

**Meh, any kind of undead animal can be a problem for anyone. Though that one was special in it's own way. **


	8. Chapter 8

_**Shink!**_

Damn it! She blocked me again!

I gritted my teeth as I raised the rapier again.

Frontal attacks are still a no go, same with side attacks. Her skill with that blade clearly out ranks me in so many ways, she knows when to block a newbie like me so easily...

"How are you so skilled?" I ask, gripping the blade properly.

Lucina stayed quiet as she brought up the Falchion. Crap...she's pointing the blade at me, she might attack...

"Always quiet aren't you." I mumbled as I go into a defensive like stance. Lucina is pretty strong, that much I can tell from the strikes she did against me in the previous sessions. She seems to ignore anything I say about half the time, she's quiet and waits to strike or block. But only speaks when I do something wrong, or gives really helpful advice...

If there's a chink in her defenses...I don't see it...how about psychological warfare? What if I make fun of her appearance...

No, don't want to get kicked in the gut...again. Hate it when she does that, plus a few seconds of making fun of her chest...is not worth a few minutes or hours of groaning in pain. Then how about something a little risky...by risky I mean near suicidal. But fuck it, I seriously want to land a hit on her...

I sighed as I go in to an offensive stance. The princess merely tilted her head to my actions, and I smirked at that.

That's right future child, I'm trying to do one of your stances you showed me. But this is not to try to hit you...no it's something different.

Lucina merely sighed as she moved into a defensive stance. She's expecting me to attack...heh, like I'm that predictable...

Tightening my grip on the rapier I rush towards her. The princess was ready to block me...just as planned.

I bring up the rapier over my head, and slash downward towards her head. She quickly blocks me, stopping the rapier in mid-motion.

Okay...NOW!

I let go of the rapier and quickly tackle Lucina. The sudden action forces her off her balance and both of us fall to the ground.

Ow...just have a few seconds...

Before Lucina could recover I grabbed the Falchion off of her hands, as I forced my weight on her. She stops moving as soon as I place the edge of the Falchion near her neck.

The princess glares at me as I smirked back. How does it feel Lucina? Being forced down and having your own weapon used against you? I would say that out loud, but I'm not that suicidal.

...This is Completely Worth getting my ass kicked for...

"Do you yield?" I ask, mocking her as I steadily held the sacred blade close to her neck.

I know full well the blade won't cut her, as anyone without exalted blood flowing through their veins can't use it. But she doesn't know that 'Leon' knows that, so she might not try to force me off or it'll look suspicious on her. Plus she probably thinks that I'm not trying to kill her as I haven't yet tried to cut her neck, which will easily fail.

Another way to prove I'm not a spy...plus I really wanted to land a hit on her...

Wow, I really must have a death wish...is it wrong to say I don't care right now?

"...I...yield." She bitterly says, glaring at me with that mask of her's. Wow, she's really pissed at me...

I smiled as I slowly got off of her, still pointing the Falchion at her. Don't want her to kick me on the gut right now, not before I 'explain' myself.

Lucina gritted her teeth at me as I slowly step away from her. Before I could I even react, her legs wrapped around mine and forces me down on the ground. The future child quickly jumps on top of me and takes the holy blade away from my hands. She puts the edge of the Falchion on my neck, stopping me from moving.

...SHIT! I really didn't think this through, crap she might kill me for this...

"Explain yourself." She says, fury in her voice.

I...am so dead!

"I-I'm-"

"OI, Breakfast is ready!"

Slowly Lucina and I looked to the source of the voice.

Jason with Anna leaning on his arm, were snickering at us.

"Oh, I think we came at a bad time," The Anna says, grinning like the trickster she was. "Maybe we should give them some privacy?"

Slowly I looked back at Lucina, who did the same thing.

You know...I'm barely processing the fact that there's a GIRL right on top of me...who's close enough to the point I can feel her breath on my face.

"We're not finished," She whispers to me, then gets off of me. Great...you just pissed off a hero of this world...way to go dumbass.

"Marth, Anna, why don't you go on ahead," Jason says, as I got up on my feet. "I have to ask Leon...something between men."

Almost right after he said that, Anna quickly moved right towards Lucina and gently grabs her arm. She pulls Lucina away from us before the princess could say a thing.

One...two...three...four...and they're gone...leaving me alone with the other Outer Realmer.

"Your an idiot," Jason says, making me look at him. The merchant walks over to me then stops and crouches down to pick up the rapier by his feet.

"I would joke around about you trying to get a B rank," He starts to say, "But instead, I'm going to give you some advice."

"And that is?" I ask, as he stood up and moved closer to me. "Let me guess don't get too attac-"

"If you really meant what you said," He says interrupting me, "Then try not to mess around with her too much, we both know that she's been through too much. That girl needs all the allies...and friends she can get to help her in the events to come."

I sighed as I stared at him, "Does that mean that you and the other Outer Realmers plan to help her as well?"

"Heh, why do you think I decided to take you to the capital?" He asks, smirking at me. "Besides we both know we don't want that fell dragon to win."

"You mean idiotic no barrel rolling dragon." I state, crossing my arms. "I guess it's a simple choice, survival or being ruled over by a pathetic excuse for a dragon."

Jason laughed as he slowly hands the rapier to me.

"If only Jon heard you say that..."

Huh?

"Who's Jon?" I ask, tilting my head. "Is he someone like us?"

The merchant nodded, "Yeah, I'll introduce you to him when you visit Yilsstol. "

I merely shrugged at his words.

Figured he might say that...

* * *

For the next hour, breakfast passed by in a blur, Jason and Anna were sharing some stories. Mostly about somethings about the economics of this world, it did gave me an idea on how the money system works. Though it got a little boring after the third story. Mostly cause I started to ignore them as I stared at Lucina every so often...

The princess had took her portion of breakfast, politely thanked Jason and Anna then went to sit under a tree. She's been quietly eating there while sitting away from us...can't help but feel guilty for that. Sure she's always been quiet whenever we eat, but at least she was close to us.

It also doesn't help with the fact I still have the rapier on me, and haven't given it back. Damn it, I should just apologize to her before anything else happens...don't want her upset at me.

Quietly I place the bowl holding my breakfast down, and grabbed the rapier. Without saying anything I got up and walked towards Lucina.

"Hey Marth..."

The princess stayed silent as she looks away from me. Great she's still mad at me...

I quietly sit right next to her, she doesn't react to my presence near her.

"Marth..." I start to say, "I'm sorry for my reckless action, it was foolish of me to do that to you."

She looks at me but stays quiet, at least I got her attention...

"Don't do it again..." She says in a low voice. "Such an action will either get you injured or killed."

"Right, I understand..." I nodded as I slowly raised the sheathed rapier to her.

"Here..." I say, "As I agreed to your conditions, I'm not allowed to carry a weapon without your permission."

Quietly staring at me, she slowly takes the rapier from my hands.

Well this is good...because of this it's showing my ability to keep my word, and that makes me seem trustworthy. And with that trust...I'll have an easier time helping her...

"Hey Marth!" Jason yells, making me and Lucina look at him.

The merchant was slowly approaching us, his English style long sword was at his side. What does he want...

"If you don't mind Marth, how about a spar?"

Really? That question again?

Lucina silently glares at him, giving the obvious answer 'no'...again. Why does it feel like he's going to be doing this for awhile?

"Fine, well I was going to give you some information about Lon'qu, but I guess you don't want it..."

Wait...

"What the hell you mean?" I ask, getting up and glaring him.

"Well contrary to what I said last night," He smirks, "I actually do have some helpful information about that swordsmen, but I'll only reveal it...if Marth beats me in a sparing match."

What an asshole...He would have actually said what he knew about Lon'qu to me and Lucina...but instead he's holding back so he can fight Lucina.

Why the hell does he want to fight Lucina!?

"Why do you want to fight Marth?" I slowly ask, doing my best to keep my anger back. "What the hell do you get out of it?"

"Well since you had ask me about the western capital's champion..." He crosses his arms, smirk growing larger. "...and you never really told me your business in the capital in the first place. I figured that you plan on entering the tournament, which may involve fighting for the eastern Khan, as you asked about Lon'qu. So I just want to see what she has to take on the best the west has to offer."

It's pretty obvious that he's bullshitting...

"How would we know the information is true?" I ask, fuck it I'll play along for now. Mostly I know Lucina is going to kick his ass...and I'll enjoy watching.

"You have my word as someone of our kind." He simply says, bowing down while doing so. "If Marth defeats me, all the information I'll speak is true."

Again with the your or in this case, our 'kind' thing? I really want Lucina to kick his ass right now...

"Marth?" I look back at the princess, "What do you say? Is any possible information worth fighting him for?"

Lucina stared at me, then at Jason. I bet she's confused by the 'situation', feel kinda bad for playing her like this...again.

Finally after setting down the rapier, the future child sighed as she stood up. Slowly placing her hand on the hilt of the Falchion.

"It seems you have your answer Leon," Jason says as he motions us to follow. "Come then we'll fight some distance away from the carriage. I don't want to frighten the horses..."

That's the only time I hear him say something about the horses...why does it feel like he doesn't actually care?

"Anna, are you good to judge?" Jason asks, looking back at the red haired merchant.

"Yeah, I'll be right over there in a little bit!"

A short ten minute walk away from the carriage later...we stop along the road. It is wide enough for a sword fight to happen, but just to be safe I'll step back at least ten feet...

"Here is good enough..." The merchant says as he stopped in front of us.

"So what are the rules?" I ask, discretely walking back a little. "First blood or yield?"

Jason chuckled as he glanced at Anna then slowly started walking back.

"Alright," The Anna starts to say, "The rules are simple, both fighters will stand ten paces away and will only use their blades. The one who makes the other yield wins...sound agreeable?"

Sounds simple enough...

"Yes." Lucina simply says as she stared at Jason. Her hands were already on the hilt of the Falchion, ready to draw it out.

Well she's certainty serious...I guess she really wants that information...maybe we're causing the idea of her fighting in Lon'qu's place to stir in her mind. That way she gets to see her father and help him win the tournament...that or she's finally annoyed of Jason and wants to kick his ass.

Any of those are plausible...

"You might want to stand back..." I hear the Anna say as she brushes past me. I step back a little more...

"Are you ready Marth?" Jason calls out, his hand resting on his English style long sword.

The princess said nothing as she slowly draws out the Falchion.

"Alright then," He says, drawing out his long sword. "Let's dance!"

...Why did I suddenly think of a cybernetic Lucina for a split second? Damn my love for MGS...

Lucina charges at Jason, her speed was incredible.

"Predicable!" Jason yells as he blocked the in coming strike. He pushes her away and slashes at her.

The future child easily jumped away and thrusts her blade at him.

The merchant dodges and slashes at her again.

"Heh, he's having fun." The Anna says, really? I'm trying to watch!

The princess runs around Jason and thrusts at his side.

"Too slow!" The merchant yells as he blocked the strike with ease.

Holy shit, he's skilled...

He pushes the princess back again and swings the long sword at her again.

Lucina blocks it then moves back, she dodges another strike.

Jason was grinning like a mad man as he kept slashing at her. He blocks another strike then slides the hilt of the blade towards her face.

The princess reels back in time to not get hit. She jumps away from him, and goes into a defensive stance.

"I must say I am impressed," Jason says, lowering his blade. "Your pretty strong and quick...I yield."

Wait...what!?

"I have no reason to continue this," The merchant says as he slowly sheathes his blade. "As I seen what I wanted, the win is yours Marth."

Lucina merely tilted her head as she stared at Jason. He chuckles as he slowly approached Lucina.

"As part of the deal," He starts to say, "I will tell you what want to know, but first we should get going. The capital isn't far now, so I'll tell you on the way there."

The future child sighed as she slowly sheathes the Falchion.

Okay, just what the hell was that!?

* * *

"So...what do you actually know about Lon'qu?" I ask, my legs were hanging off of the carriage.

It's been an hour since the Jason and Lucina had their 'spar'. To put it simple terms, nothing has really happened...Jason hasn't explain what he 'knew' about Lon'qu. Cause reasons...by reasons I mean him being an asshole. I seriously don't understand why the hell he did that cheap trick...

"Lon'qu is highly skilled in his foreign techniques, as I had seen them myself," Jason starts to say, keeping his head forward. "Granted it was a year ago...but that day is still fresh in my mind. He mainly focuses on speed mixed in with his skill and strength."

"Any weaknesses?" Lucina asks, preventing me from saying anything. Well she's certainly eager to learn how to beat him...I guess we are influencing that idea in her head...but I could be wrong.

"Due to the focus in speed with skill and strength...he lacks much defense, but is able avoid most or block most of his opponent's attacks."

That I could've guessed since I used him the game a lot...

"So like most swordsmen he's weak against ranged attacks and magic." I state, leaning against my palms. "But none of us are mages or archers."

"Well that is true but..." Jason looks at Lucina and smirks. "But you young lady have a good chance to fight and win."

"How so?" Lucina asks, tilting her head.

"You do have speed but if apply your skills a little more then you have a chance to win."

"Is there anything else we should know?" I ask, come on we all know the your holding one piece of critical information.

The merchant chuckles as he smirks at Lucina.

"Well now that you mention it, he does have one important weakness..."

"And that is?"

"Lon'qu is a gynophobic."

"Gynophobic?" Lucina asks, barely pronouncing the word right. "What is that?"

"Leon, care to explain?"

Of course the asshole will leave me to explain that...

"Well Marth," I start to say as I looked at her. "It basically means that Lon'qu is afraid of women."

"I...see." She simply says, wonder what she actually knows about Lon'qu...

"Wait a second..." Jason starts to say, "Marth are you still planing to masquerade as a boy?"

Lucina glared at the merchant, note to self...try to not make fun of her voice anytime soon.

"What do you have mind Jason?" I ask, looking back at him.

"It should be simple for a tactician to figure out..." He snickers at me.

What an asshole...but it really is easy.

"Leon," Lucina says, "What does he mean?"

Wow, she really must have a sense of nobility to not figure out what we're thinking.

"Well," I look back at her and smirked. "He means that you can pretend to be a boy long enough to fight Lon'qu and in the middle of the fight. You'll reveal your true gender, which may shock Lon'qu long enough to leave him open for a strike. It's actually really simple when you think about it..."

The princess simply stares at me, give her three seconds...

One..two...thre-

"Absolutely not!" She yells, sounding a little annoyed. "I would not perform a dishonorable action."

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance, says the woman who kicked me in the stomach multiple times...

"Marth," I slowly say, "I admire your sense of nobility...I won't force you to consider such a tactic. But you should keep in mind all available options when in a fight, even the less honorable ones. That makes the difference between victory and defeat."

Cause seriously kid, you need every option you can take...you don't need to be a tactician to understand that.

"True words of a tactician..." Jason comments, "You'd be wise to heed them Marth..."

Lucina stayed silent as she looks away. Hopefully she comes around to it, if not then it will be up to me to plan Lon'qu's defeat.

Heh, challenge accepted.

* * *

"Wake up kid we're here."

Huh?

Slowly I opened my eyes as I rose up. Then my eyes widen at the sight before me, holy...shit...

"Welcome to the Western Capital!" The Anna yells as I stared in awe.

Wow, there is a massive Colosseum in the center of the city. The surrounding buildings dwarfed in comparison to the massive structure, the buildings themselves weren't elegant but looked sturdy. Didn't really focus on the buildings because of that massive Colosseum! It puts the legendary Roman Colosseum to shame...

"That Colosseum, not only holds both the West and East Khan's thrones," Jason explains, "It is the place the reigning Khan rules, as well as the place where tournaments are held."

"It's massive..." I say, still staring at the structure. "Wonder how it looks inside..."

"Think on that later," The Anna says, "Right now you need to get inside the carriage."

Wait...

"What?" I ask, confused by her words. "What do you mean-"

Jason pulls the carriage to a stop and jumps off.

"Sorry but I forgot to say that Feroxains are cautious with travelers." The merchant explains as he opens up the carriage. "They'll ask questions about why you two are on top of the carriage. So to prevent an unnecessary time waster, you two need to be inside the carriage."

"Um...isn't it a tight space?" I ask, sliding down and softly landing on the snow. I really don't want to be stabbed by Lucina...

"Just give Anna and me a minute, there will be room."

"Count on us!" The Anna says cheerfully, jumping off the carriage. She quickly rushed to Jason's size to help him.

I sighed as I look back Lucina, the future child's head was tilted as she watched the merchant couple work.

"Interesting isn't it?" I ask, smirking at her.

"What is?" She asks, looking at me.

"How their going out of their way to help us," I slowly say, "Even if I help gain passage to here."

I gesture out to the city in front of us. "They still are willing to help us, two complete strangers."

I have no idea why I'm saying this...meh, I'll keep going with it.

"It's nic-"

"Hey you two!" Jason yells, making us look at him. "Hurry up and get in the carriage already!"

"Well Marth," I start to say, looking back at Lucina. "Shall we go?"

The princess merely nodded before jumping off the carriage.

I really hope she doesn't stab me if I bump my shoulder against her's...

About thirty minutes of being stuck between a crate and a princess...we finally enter the capital.

"Okay, it's good to come out."

The carriage door opens letting the light seep through. Finally! Fresh air!

I jump out of the carriage and land on the soft snow. Lucina shortly followed after me, she looked relieved as well. It really was a tight fit...don't want to discuss how uncomfortable it was. What happens in the carriage stays in the carriage...my head still hurts a little...it lost a fight with Lucina's shoulder...

"So this is the Western Capital," I say, glancing at my surroundings. "It's rather..."

"Shitty yet simple." Jason finishes, walking up next me. "Feroxians are known for their fighting skills not their fancy buildings."

Shitty is not how would I put it, more like dirty simple. The buildings do give off the medieval feel to this world...they aren't really that bad to look at. Even though I'm not much of an architect...

"So what now?" I ask, looking at Jason. "Do we find an Inn or something?"

"Yes, after I help you book a room at an Inn, our deal will be done."

Really...when you put it like that you sound like a real asshole. I guess he's keeping his character up to draw any unwanted attention off of Lucina.

Clever bastard...

"Anna," Jason looks back at the crimson haired merchant. "Why don't you go on ahead to that Inn we always stay at? I'll show these two around before we head there..."

The Anna pouted at his words, "Meanie, you owe me for this."

"Heh, don't worry," He says, "I'll repay my favorite merchant girl something she'll love..."

Anna visibly blushed as she smirked at his words. She quietly goes back to the carriage and sets off with the horses.

Should I be embarrassed by what I just saw and heard? Cause I'm pretty sure I heard something that adults should not phrase in public...naughty bastard.

I discretely look back at Lucina, who was looking at the huge Colosseum in the far distance. Hmm, guess she's wants to go there...

"Hey Jason," I say, "How about showing us around the Colosseum? It might be nice to scout it out before the tournament..."

The merchant looks at me and smirks.

"Sure, but first I'll show you around the capital so you can get your bearings, then take you to the Inn ."

By around the capital, he meant traveling through crowded markets, and several alleys. I do have to admit, the place was pretty lively...there were so many people, merchants, people buying things, mercenaries offering their services. It's...incredible...I never seen anything like this back home...sure it was a crowded as hell city...but nothing like this.

It felt nice...

"Hey kid, stop staring at the locals." Jason whispers, bringing me from my thoughts. "You'll get weird stares..."

"Shut up.." I whisper back, sounding annoyed. "So, how much further to the Inn?"

"Not far..."

...He's still an asshole...

I quietly fall in with Lucina, matching her pace. The princess was quiet as usual, and I'm oddly getting used to it. Not sure if that's a good thing...plus it's really boring.

"So Marth," I start to say, "Have you made a decision on which Khan your fighting for?"

The future child stayed quieted as she kept looking ahead. Really ignoring me already? She's making me tempted to say something to get her attention...something stupid.

Nah...I'll do that some other time.

"Whatever choice you make," I whisper, smirking at her. "I'll support you as your tactician..."

She said nothing as I moved on ahead next to Jason.

"Still going for a B rank?" He whispers, smirking at me.

I'm tempted to yell but it won't help at all...maybe if I could get Lucina to fight him again and actually kick his ass.

Twenty minutes later, we arrive at the entrance of the Inn.

"So this is it?" I wondered out loud, "It's really huge..."

"Yeah it is," Jason says, "Anna and I have stayed here multiple times, along with others of our kind..."

So other Outer Realmers stayed here too? Wonder if there are any here...

"You mean your countrymen?" Lucina asks, sounding curious.

The merchant smirks as he crosses his arms.

"Yeah Leon and I are not the only ones..." He looks at me, "Say Leon how was home before you arrived here?"

Really, he asks this now!?

"Oh, it's pretty much the same." I say, shrugging. "Politicians being politicians...assholes being assholes...the usual like any other place."

"Should've known that," He says, sounding a little sad. "Been so long since I came here, how have you been adjusting?"

"I'm fine nothing to worry about..."

"That's good..."

"Jason!? Is that you!?"

Huh?

All three of us turn to see a woman approaching us.

The woman was wearing something that looked a cross between a robe and a dress, with knee length pants and boots. She had shoulder length raven colored hair, with dark green eyes and was wearing glasses. There was a scythe strapped to her back, with a bag slung over her shoulder.

Why does she look familiar? I doubt I've met her before...but what is it...

"Oh, it's you..." Jason says, sounding bored. "Why are you here?"

"Nice to know your charm hasn't changed." The woman mutters, she glances at me then at Lucina.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the princess, then quickly looks back at Jason.

"Why don't you introduce me?" She asks, slowly smiling.

That reaction to Lucina...who is this woman?

"Nope. How about you do it?" The merchant asks, crossing his arms.

"Always the asshole.." The woman mutters, she does a polite bow. "My name is Midori Dedmaster, it is a pleasure to meet you."

That name...it sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on it.

"My name is Leon Strife..." I say, politely bowing back. "The pleasure is mine..."

Midori looked at Lucina, who was simply staring.

"You may call me Marth." The princess finally says, her voice was forced...again. Really annoyed by that...

"Marth, eh?" Midori slowly says, "That's a rather interesting name...for a girl."

Uh oh, Lucina might pull out her sword...

"You are mistaken Miss," Lucina tries to say, sounding a little annoyed. It's sounds really weird when she's doing that fake voice of hers...

Yeah, I'm getting really annoyed by that...her real voice sounds so much better.

"Hmm, are you sure?" The green eyed woman asks, slowly approaching the princess. "Because you come off as a girl, and a young one too."

"You are mistaken," Lucina says, getting her teeth. Her hand twitched a little...crap have to stop this before anything happens.

"Oh, don-"

"Ahem!" I force out a mock cough. "So Midori, how do you know Jason?"

Midori stared at me for a few seconds, then looks at Lucina and winks at her. Slowly she walks away from the princess and towards me.

"That depends on who you are young man." She simply says, her hand grabs the handle of her scythe. "Leon Strife...such an interesting name..."

Before I could even react, she pulls out the scythe and slashes at me.

_**Shink!**_

Huh?

Slowly I widened my eyes as I was stunned at the sight. Lucina was in front of me, the Falchion was drawn and was blocking the blade of the scythe.

What the hell!? When did she even move!?

"Oh, I was hoping you were a mage and would've blocked it with your mana," Midori slowly explains, tilting her head. "Then I wouldn't be one the few of our kind to use magic..."

Wait...our 'kind'...that's what Jason says...then that means. She's an Outer Realmer!?

"Midori, why do you always have to be so forceful?" Jason asks, still sounding bored. "The kid hasn't have the chance to prove if he's capable."

"Oh? Then it is my mistake..." Slowly the green eyed woman pulls back her scythe.

Lucina still kept the Falchion up, ready to strike if needed. Midori chuckled as she straps the scythe on her back.

"Oh, don't worry Marth," She says, smirking at her. "I am not really going to hurt one of my kind. Actually...I'm surprised you responded so quickly, you definitely have skill."

The princess said nothing as she kept her blade at her. I'm a little surprised myself...she came to my aid so quickly...

"Marth," I slowly say, putting my hand on her shoulder. "It's alright, I don't think she actually means any harm..."

Any harm to you perhaps, but I won't say that...still something about that woman is making me uneasy...

Lucina looks at me with that mask of hers, then sighs as she slowly puts the Falchion away.

I let out a sigh of relief, then look back at Midori. Her green eyes were staring at my brown ones, if she's an Outer Realmer...then how did she figure out I was too?

...I should ask that when Lucina is not around, cause I get the feeling that I'll only get answers in those conditions.

* * *

After what happened in the front of the Inn, all of us including Midori had entered the Inn without further incident. Everyone was quiet as Jason and Anna who was waiting for us booked all of us rooms. Midori booked a room for herself as well, apparently the management was familiar with those three...

Makes me wonder how many times they stayed here...

After the booking of the rooms, Midori had invited me and Lucina up to her room for a private 'discussion'. Somehow I got a bad feeling off of that...but I had reluctantly agreed despite Lucina's glares. Need to thank her later for protecting me...

Midori's room was simple for an Inn, a bed, a fireplace, and a few chairs.

"I am sorry for before Leon," Midori says, adjusting her glasses. "I honestly thought you were a mage, cause of the fact that..."

"Fact of what?" I ask, shifting uncomfortably in my chair. "Was it because I was unarmed?"

"Something like that..." She mutters as she glances at Lucina. "So Marth as we are in private now...you can drop that fake voice. It really sounds unnatural for you..."

Lucina glared at her, then sighed.

"How did you know?" She asks, her voice normal again. What a relief it is to hear that voice...

"Heh, call it a women's intuition." Midori giggles out as she sat down on a chair. "Why don't you sit down as well?"

The princess glares at her, giving off the answer 'no'.

"Suit yourself..." The scythe user says, she looks back at me. "Say Leon how long have been traveling with her? She seems to be quite the conversationalist..."

"For awhile now..." I simply say, "So what do you want to talk about? I get the feeling that this is more than an apology."

"Aren't you clever..." She smirks at me. "Well it is cause I want to ask a favor..."

"And that is?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"When you enter the tournament I want in on your team."

What...

"What are you talking?" I ask, "And why would you assume we are entering the tournament?"

Besides the obvious reason standing next to me...

"Jason told me." She simply says, grinning at me. "While you two were headed to the Inn, Jason mentioned that both of you plan on entering the tournament. But he didn't say which side..."

Why do I get the feeling that story is complete bullshit? It would only make sense if she's trying to fool Lucina...it is somewhat believable since Jason is an asshole.

"We haven't decided on a side," I slowly say, I point to the princess. "That is for her to decide..."

I can feel Lucina's glares...great I'm annoying her again...

"If that is the case," Midori gets up from her chair and bows in the direction of Lucina. "Please allow me to fight by your side Marth, I offer my services as a battlemage free of charge."

The princess tilted her head, seeming to be confused by her actions.

"Battlemage..." She slowly says, "I am unfamiliar with that term, what is it?"

As an RPG player that class is too simple to remember...but it's not surprising she hasn't heard of that name before...as they shouldn't exist in this world. But I'll let Midori explain...as I could be wrong in what it means...

"A type of mage that combines their primary weapon with their magic." Midori explains, slowly getting up. "We are able to use magic in a faster way then typical mages."

"But you don't appear to have tomes..." Lucina say, "How are you able to cast with out them?"

So tomes do exist in this world...that's one thing exactly like the game.

"Heh, that's what you might expect for a normal mage..." Midori slowly says, smirking. "But my kind have the potential to bend the rules."

Bend the rules? What can Outer Realmers do?

"Allow me to demonstrate..."

Huh?

Slowly she raises her hand out toward us, she smirks as she raises it to the ceiling.

What is she...

Slowly a gust wind was felt in the room, which is impossible since the window was closed. Unless...

I stare at her raised hand and my eyes widened.

The air became a visibly green color as it danced around Midori's hand. It encircled around it until it became a spinning ball of air...

"That's impossible..." I hear Lucina whisper. "How is she using magic without a tome!?"

"Heh, it's a special talent only people like my kind carry." Midori explains, showing off the ball of air. "Somehow, we have the potential to manipulate mana without tomes. Pretty neat huh?"

Holy shit...being able to use magic without a tome...that's a VERY useful ability. She said that only people of her 'kind' can do that...does that I mean I can too?

Am I able to use magic?

"So with that, I hope I convinced you to accept me." Midori says, as the ball of air dissipates from her hand. "Otherwise I'll have to find another way in..."

"How are you able to do that?" I ask, my eyes still staring at her hand.

"Oh, one word...practice." She says, winking at me. "Don't worry if you prove capable, I'll gladly teach you how."

I sigh in disappointment...still if Outer Realmers can do this, what else can we do?

* * *

_Lucina's been quiet since she saw Midori use magic without a tome..._

_She looked completely shocked by what Midori can do, which to her is impossible._

_It does surprise me as well, since it didn't appear possible in the game._

_Still...I wonder what Lucina is thinking...does she think that the world had changed because she had traveled to the past?_

_Because of her reactions...it is the logical thing to speculate..._

_Still poor kid...we're probably messing with her mind right now, causing massive amounts of confusion..._

_Maybe I should talk to her..._

I sighed as I put away the journal, man what an interesting day...

Lucina and I agreed on checking out the Colosseum tomorrow, as today had too many twists...at least for her.

Maybe I should talk to her...but what should I say? Something to take her mind off of the situation? A possible plan of attack on Lon'qu? Or try to convince her to fight Lon'qu?

So many possible options...but what should...

"Leon are you in here?"

Huh?

I look at the door in time to see Jason along with Midori come in.

"Sorry to bother you but," Midori says, "Have you seen Marth?"

"Huh, what do you mean?" I ask, confused by her words. "Isn't she in her room?"

Midori shook her head, "No, plus I checked her room, it seemed that she hadn't entered it at all."

"What? Then where-"

"Hey!"

Anna runs threw the doorway, a panicked look was on her face.

"I saw Marth heading towards the Colosseum!" She yells, taking a deep breath. "I tried to stop her, but she ran off before I could do anything!"

Wait...

"If she's heading to the Colosseum..." Jason starts to say.

"Then she plans on taking on Lon'qu on her own!" I yell, finishing everyone's thoughts. "Shit, she might be unprepared to fight him...we have to go after her."

All three of them nodded as they immediately headed out the door.

Dammit Lucina, I know you would do reckless actions...but this is just stupid!

You better not get your ass kicked by that damn gynophobic!

* * *

**A/N: Once again...sickness has lead to shorter than intended chapter. **

**As usual, read, review, or hopefully look for something better to read.**

**Tis your choice**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Angel Of Darkness And Light: Meh, Anna was rather a bit difficult at times to do...but thanks didn't expect her to turn out well enough. Interesting comments on Leon, I did my best to flesh him out well enough.**

**It is possible for him to use magic...but only if he is capable, and we'll see soon enough to see if he is capable.**

**Yeah, Leon would regret it real bad if he does that...on purpose or accident.**

**X-ray99: I'm glad that you think that.**

**King**** Keith: Thanks, it's nice to that I'm trying something different. **

**That's an interesting idea you have on the whole dimensional traveling for different periods of time. And I agree there are many different time periods where people are able to survive better than us.**

**Somehow I don't really see Leon being able to hold off a Robin anytime soon. In my opinion, he has a better chance of taking down a low level Donnel than a Robin, but's that my opinion...we'll see how he actually turns out. Hopefully something decent...**


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm worried..._

_Worried about Lucina, worried that she might lose to Lon'qu._

_Worried that Chrom might possibly lose against Lon'qu if that happens. _

_About the chance of messing up this world...a__bout the loss of life..._

_Just so much worrying..._

_DAMMIT!_

I closed the journal as I laid back on the ground.

After Anna along with Jason and Midori managed to grab their weapons, we quickly ran out of the Inn. But before I was able to say anything...Jason told me to wait at the Inn. Naturally I had asked/yelled why would I do that...

He told me that I didn't know the capital that well, and I will likely slow them down. Then pointed out the factor that Lucina could be scouting the Colosseum before the fight. Even though I did tell him that me and the princess had agreed to that for the next day...

Though that doesn't matter now...

I tried to argue with him...but he pointed out the facts that I know were true. I'm unfamiliar with the layout of the city and it'll be easy for me to get lost. Along with the factor of me inadvertently slowing down the search...he's right on that. Plus there is the small chance that Lucina will come back to the Inn, so Anna had softly asked me to stay behind as well.

Needless to say, I complied with out further complaint...

So here I am...about thirty minutes or so after that whole thing...just lying down on the cold ground.

Like a useless fool...damn...why do I have to be so weak?

Had my ankle broken when I was running from that Risen and only survived because of Lucina. Had my leg torn nearly torn apart by an undead bear and only managed to survive because of that princess. Barely managed to fight a Risen but was unable to kill any...almost died again but...you guessed it! The future child saved me!

In the end, the majority of the time...that princess had done most of the hard work and I just got in the way. While it's true that I did help her a little, but most of it was just a lie or something I did to save my own skin. It pretty much sums up the resume of my shitty skill set, I've probably survived so far by sheer dumb luck.

While I have managed to fool the princess into thinking I'm just a lost traveler...it's only a matter of time until she becomes suspicious of me. Hence why I've tried to be kind and not gain any suspicion...while I actually feel sorry for her. Though my actions never did make any sense as I did give her that scarf...that was made from that horrible dress...

"Dammit!" I yelled in frustration as I slowly pulled myself up. Seriously hate it when my low self esteem takes over and gives me doubts...

Screw it, I'm going to go something really stupid...hopefully Anna and Jason would understand.

Quietly I walk away from the Inn, towards the streets of the capital.

You know there is one other thing I forgot to factor in with Lucina...and that is her and the Western Capital itself. If there is small chance of that factor to be true...then there's a chance to find her. Heh, I guess I'll test that idea out really quickly...if I'm wrong then I'll run straight towards the Colosseum.

I smirked to myself as I started sprinting through the streets.

After some time of moving aimlessly through the streets and some alleys, I head straight towards the Colosseum.

Well that was a waste of time...I thought the capital's streets were chaotically designed and confusing. At least to the point were it would have made a certain bluenette lost. I guess I was wrong to think that medieval cities are all the same...at least in terms of design.

The capital's design at first glance seems to be to confusing, but when I actually moved through them. It felt like there was a pattern to it...it's hard to explain, but that's how it feels to me. Maybe there's more to the Feroxians than their fighting skills. The game was never detailed on the countries, if there was...then it was just something plot related. At least it was for me...

Still...this means that Lucina has probably reached the Colosseum by now! Shit...she's probably challenging Lon'qu right this second!

I increased my pace as I gritted my teeth.

Damn that reckless princess, it's probably because of what Midori did. It might of freaked her out to the point she would do this, I should have talked to her about it right after it happened. Maybe that have stopped her from doing this...but I actually doubt it...

Still, I didn't respond correctly to what happened...instead of thinking of doing something...I should have just done something!

I shook my head as I increased my pace even more. I can blame myself later for this, right now the priority is to find Lucina and either stop her or help fight Lon'qu.

I'm supposed to be her 'tactician' after all...

* * *

Okay, how the hell am I supposed to get inside that!?

I gritted my teeth in frustration as I press myself against a wall. I was leaning against a building that was close to the Colosseum, by close I mean I could just walk fifty feet and I'd be inside.

Problem with that...there are guards posted in at the entrance. Guards with really SHARP looking swords, spears and axes...

The entrance itself was a large metal gate, with two guards in the front of it, and two behind it. So pretty much your generic, cliche entrance to an important building...if only I was a certain type of assassin..who can just free run around this.

But I'm not in a fanfiction...so I'll just get myself stabbed repeatedly until I die in pain...yeah I'm that imaginative. Still four guards...this is just the front entrance, maybe security is a little lax around the sides. Hell, if I'm lucky they probably have left a window open or something...

Wishful thoughts aside...there's no way I can sneak my way past these guys. I doubt my knowledge with certain stealth orientated games can help with this...unless I do something drastic...

Sneak in from below? No that wouldn't make any sense, I don't remember anything that looked like it leads underground.

Go in from above? None of the buildings are close nor large enough to consider that option...and I don't have a grappling hook or anything like that.

Throw a bag of gold to gain a crowd to sneak in with? This isn't that one assassin game...

Maybe if I...no...not going to even think that option.

Besides, where am I going to get a jar of bees? Or even find a beehive for that matter?

I really need to think on this...just how I am going to get inside?

"There you are."

Huh?

I turned just in time to see a blueish blur slam into me, cover my mouth and drag me away from the wall.

WHAT THE HELL!?

The person who was currently suffocating me, was Lucina.

What...is she doing here!?

"Be quiet." She whispers as she drags me further away.

I stop struggling and quietly obeyed her.

We silently move away from the building I was using as cover and into a nearby alley. The princess stops and 'softly' pushes me against a wall.

"Explain yourself." She says, glaring at me with that mask.

My eyebrows raised in confusion at her words. What is she...

Slowly the princess removed her hand from my mouth, and I sighed in relief. I really did not want to know what her gloves taste like.

"W-what do you mean?" I ask, sounding confused. "I was trying to find you."

"Your lying." She says, pushing me against the wall a bit more. "Anna had told me that you were heading to the arena, despite what we had agreed upon earlier."

Wait...

"Anna...had told me that you were heading the arena." I slowly say, "So we ended up having to split up to search for you...I was forced to wait at the Inn, but I decide look for you despite what the others said."

"What?" The bluenette looked taken back at my words. "That's what I did with Anna and the others...they tried to convince me to stay behind, but I wanted to prevent you from doing something foolish."

So that's how it is...DAMN THAT REDHEADED...SUCCUBUS...MERCHANT...TRICKSTER! She hoodwinked us!

"We were fooled," I slowly say, "That _merchant_ lied to us...she made us think the other was doing something reckless..."

Lucina tilted her head as she moved away from me. I guess she's curious and a bit confused on that...fine I'll explain it to her...

But first...

"Marth," I start to say, "When exactly did Anna tell you I was heading for the arena? And where were you?"

"I was in the stables..." She states, her hands turning into fists. "I was assisting Anna in bringing in the horses, but she had ran off...claiming that she had forgotten something. When she returned...she claimed that you were missing."

"How did that lead to me heading to the Colosseum?" I ask, somewhat guessing where this is going.

"Not long after her claim, Jason ran in claiming that he saw you heading towards the arena." She says, "I asked him if he was sure, and he claimed that he and Midori had witnessed it."

"And where was Midori?"

"Jason had told me that she ran off after you." The princess says.

"That's...interesting..." I say, crossing my arms. "Midori and Jason had came into my room, they told me that you weren't around and you never entered your room at all. Then Anna came running in saying that you were heading for the Colosseum. Pretty obvious where this is leading to isn't it?"

"But why would they lie to us?" Lucina asks, confusion obvious in her voice. "What would they gain?"

Not much for humor is she? Note to self, never tell a joke to her...she might take it literally.

"Their insane?" I guessed, shrugging. "They have demonstrated that they are not exactly normal..."

The princess quietly stared at me, great I didn't mean it like that...I was actually guessing...

"We should-"

"Hey!"

Both me and Lucina looked in the direction of the voice.

Leaning against the wall with her scythe at her side, was Midori smirking at us. Her green eyes were staring at us, they felt mischievous and dangerous at the same time.

"Finally found you..." She slowly says, leaning her head in her hands. "I was beginning to get a little worried."

"What are you doing here?" I ask, glaring at her. "Shouldn't you be else where?"

Didn't mean to make it sound like an insult, but she's making me nervous since she's alone. Plus that predatory look of her's isn't helping...is she looking at me or Lucina? Can't explain why it feels like she's staring at the princess...

Midori clicks her tongue as she moves away from the wall.

"That's a little mean," She says, adjusting her glasses. "But I suppose I should...explain myself."

She twirls her scythe as she approached us. The princess next to me reaches for the Falchion but doesn't draw it...

Damn...this is going to lead to another fight isn't it? Why does she want to fight Lucina? The Deja vu does not help with this at all...

"I wanted to get Marth alone..." She pouted as she lowers the scythe. "But I guess I'll have to make due with both of you."

"Explain." Lucina says, gritting her teeth.

"I wanted to make...a proposal..." The green eyed woman says. "About a possible way to actually challenge Lon'qu...and win."

"How would you help with that?" I ask, curious to what she meant. "And what do you gain?"

"Oh, so your interested?" She asks, mocking me. "Heh, alright then...I simply want to fight in the tournament. That is my true intentions..."

Somehow...I actually believe her...

"...But why?" I ask, tilting my head. "That doesn't explain your reason for wanting us to the ones to enter with you..."

"That is of my own personal matter," She simply says, she looks back at Lucina. "So what do you say Marth...do you want to spar to test my word?"

And with that another Outer Realmer is challenging the princess...if this turns into a trend...I'm going to break Lucina's mask. Not kidding...I seriously will...

"Before we go any further," I start to say, gaining their attention. "Shouldn't we go somewhere more appropriate? I don't think the city guard would be happy to see people fighting in the streets..."

I know about most of what I've just said is bullshit...but I need time to think of a way to counter Midori. She's a scythe and magic user, with an unknown fighting style. I'm sure the princess has already figured that out...but maybe I could help her out a bit...

"Oh, I know the perfect place." Midori states as she twirls the scythe. "Follow me...oh and please be silent. Let me do the talking..."

The hell does that mean?

* * *

"Midori? What is the meaning of this?" One of the guards asks, as we approached the entrance.

The entrance of the Colosseum...why am I getting a bad feeling on this? Also...the guards know her!?

"Just potential recruits..." Midori states, sounding really bored. "Our selection is rather dull compared to these two."

"Heh, the Khan will decide that." The guard mutters as another one signaled the others to open the gate.

"Oh, you know he enjoys what I give him..." The green eyed woman says as she motions us to follow.

Okay just who the hell is Midori? And what is her connection to the Khans? She said he...that obviously means Basilio...but what is...

"Leon...it's rude to be staring at my back." Midori says, bringing back to reality. "I know I'm an attractive woman, but think of your naughty thoughts later...preferably when we're alone."

"W-what!" I practically scream out, my face felt as if it was fire. "What the he-"

The green eyed woman laughs at my embarrassment, she turns and winks at me.

"Don't worry, I was only kidding." She says, smirking at me. "Besides your a little too innocent for my taste, I prefer something...else...by the way have you guessed the spelling of my name?As it is spelled as...M-i-d-o-r-i...and my last name is D-e-d-m-a-s-t-e-r. "

She laughs as she winks at me again, "Does that sound familiar to you?"

I narrow my eyes at her, what the hell is with her? Fine I'll play along...for now.

"It pretty obvious, now that I look at it." I simply say crossing my arms. "Green eyes, black clothes, wielding a scythe and with those glasses. Your name is derived from the one and only Dead Master. Though you would look better without the glasses, plus your missing the head gear and the wings...among other things..."

It's true now that I actually think on that, plus her name 'Midori Dedmaster'...just add an A to the last name and you get Dead Master. I can't believe I didn't figure that out sooner...no wonder she seemed familiar.

Midori smiled at my words, "You have no idea how happy I am to finally find someone who knows of her."

"Really?" I ask, skeptical on that. "None of our kind know of her or the stories related to her and Black Rock?"

Wait...did I just say our kind? ...Damn you Jason!

"You'd be surprised to know that none of the others know of them." She says, sounding a little sad. "It was lonely being the only one with that knowledge."

"Do you idolize her?" I ask, smirking at her. "It's either that or your a cospl-"

"I was interested in _costume_ designs when I was young," Midori smiles again, interrupting me. "And Dead Master and Black Rock just appealed to me somehow."

"Hence the possible reason you use a scythe." I speculate, smirking at her. "I do have to admit, it would actually be nice to be able to summon skulls and control chains."

"Yes, it would...but I haven't learned how to do that yet."

Can't tell if she's serious or not...

It grew quiet after that, Midori was silently leading us through a bunch of hallways. Why does there have to be so much walking? Though I'm not complaining...at least it isn't a few miles worth of stairs...now that would actually make me complain.

Lucina has been predictably silent the whole time...starting to wonder what she's thinking. Is she suspicious of Midori as she had got us into the Colosseum? Or is she curious to what exactly me and Midori where actually talking about. Either way, I really want to break that mask...

"And we're here." The green eyed woman states as she stops right in front of a large doorway.

Whoa...those are some large doors...if my cliche senses are right...then these would either lead us to a large arena, a throne room, or a even larger hallway.

Damn my love of reading...

"Are you ready?" Midori asks as she places her hands on the doors. What is she...

The air around the scythe user began to turn green as swirl down her arms toward her hands. The air forcibly pushed the doors open and they impacted the sides with a loud slam.

"Oi, potato peeler!" She yells as she walks past the doors. "You have a challenger!"

Um...what the hell was that!?

Wait...she said potato peeler...don't tell me...

Lucina and I walked in after her, and my jaw dropped at the sight before me. I was so right on the arena bit...and holy shit this thing is huge! The ancient Roman Colosseum really pales in comparison to this place, and this thing is indoors!

On the other side of the grand arena, striking at a few dummies with a sword, was the man we came here to see...Lon'qu.

The swordsman silently looked at the scythe user with a blank expression, his eyes had that 'why are you here?' look on it.

Wow, it really is him...maybe I shouldn't get near him...

"Heh, still charming as ever." Midori mutters as she stops at least fifteen feet away from him. Why is she...oh, right he's gynophobic...woman can't get at least five feet of him before he freaks out.

Holy shit...I just realized that Lon'qu is a lot like Guy Cecil...a character from Tales of the Abyss. He had the same problems, similar sword style and is an awesome character. Only difference...his personalty is completely different compared to the Feorxian champion...plus Guy probably loves women more than this swordsman.

Yeah...definitely bored enough to think of that comparison...wonder who would win in a fight? My money's on Guy...

"What do you want?" Lon'qu asks, bringing me back from my thoughts.

"Didn't you hear me?" Midori asks sounding a little bored. "I said you have a challenger, this one might actually take your place."

The swordsman narrowed his eyes at her, then glanced at me. I flinched at his stare, damn he really is intimidating...why couldn't he be like Guy?

"Waste of time..." He simply says looking back at Midori.

"No, not that one." The green eyed woman smirks as she adjusted her glasses. "He's too weak to even consider taking you on, the one that wants to fight, is the boy wearing the mask."

Well that was brutally honest...but so true.

The gynophobic looked at Lucina, the princess glared right back at him. I should really step back right now...

The scythe user simply rolled her eyes at him.

"Jeez, both of you are really silent..." She mutters then claps her hands. "I'll let both of you have at each other, and before you say anything Lon'qu...I've already cleared this with Basilio. So stop giving me that damnable look of yours and be ready to defend yourself!"

Wait...what did she just say?

"Right then time to go Leon."

Huh?

Before I could even react, Midori grabs me by the hood of my jacket and drags me away.

"W-wait!" I yell trying to keep myself from falling. "What are you-"

The green eyed woman places her hand over my mouth stopping me mid-sentence. Damn she's strong...

"We'll watch and judge from the stands, so have fun you two," She cheerfully says, keeping me from talking. "Try not to main each other too much, one of you has to fight in the tournament."

And with that she drags me away from the two possibly confused warriors. Just what the hell is going on!?

"Don't worry I don't have any bad intent." Midori whispers as she increased her pace. "...Stop struggling and I'll explain."

I quietly obeyed her as she slowly removed her hands from my mouth and hood.

"So what are you doing?" I whisper, wiping my mouth with my jacket's sleeve. "And what the hell did you mean by having it cleared with Basilio?"

"I'll explain soon enough," She says, "Just after the fight, you wanna place your bet?"

A few minutes later me and Midori were sitting on the stands over looking the arena. The green eyed scythe user look really excited for the fight, while I on the other hand was still a bit worried. I didn't get a chance to go over a strategy or a tactic or something with Lucina to beat Lon'qu.

Damn...I know that she has a large chance to win, but this isn't the game...an actual future is at stake here. If something goes wrong...then all of us might be screwed.

"Alright!" Midori yells standing up on her seat. "I want to see a good clean fight, each of you will stand at least ten paces away at the center of the arena, which you already are. As with any kind of tournament match, no healing magic of any kind is allowed, no killing or severe injury of any kind. The victor will be decided by knock out or submission judged by me, are you ready?"

Lon'qu merely stayed silent as he drew out his sword and went into a familiar stance. Lucina places the rapier on the ground then draws out the Falchion. Both of them were clearly waiting for the match to begin...ready to fight a decisive battle.

"Then by my judgement, may the match...BEGIN!"

As soon as the scythe clapped her hands, the two warriors charged at each other.

They immediately begin to slash at each other, the clashing of their blades echoed around the arena.

Shit, both are giving all they got...

Lucina thrusts her sword at Lon'qu's chest but he blocks it and forces her back. The princess blocks an incoming strike, she tries to move but Lon'qu pushes her forward and thrusts at her. She was able to dodge his strike but not unscathed, as she moved away him she quickly clutched her arm.

I quickly glanced at Lon'qu's sword and my eyes widen when I saw red glint off the end of the blade.

"He nicked her," I hear Midori whisper, "Not bad for the princess."

"What are talking you about?" I ask, not taking my eyes off the fight.

Lucina rolls to the side as Lon'qu thrusts his sword at her. She rolls again when Lon'qu quickly followed up his attack with a slash. The future child quickly tries to thrust at him but Lon'qu jumps out of the way. Forcing the princess to move back into a defensive stance.

"Most would have lost by now." Midori states, sounding a little bored. "But our little heroic princess is tougher then most...so predictable."

I ignored her as I looked between Lon'qu and Lucina. None looked like they have broken a sweat yet, damn they're so strong...

Lucina dodges a few more strikes from Lon'qu before parrying another and slashing at him. The swordsman jumps barely dodging the sudden slash, damn he's fast...

"Heh, she got him." Midori says, voice filled with sudden interest. "Not bad..."

"Wait, didn't he dodge?" I ask, refusing to look away.

"Look at the princess's blade..."

As soon as Midori had said that, I looked directly at the tip of the Falchion, there was a small speck of red at the end of the blade.

"She really did get him..." I mutter, "She may actually have a chance..."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Midori interjects, clicking her tongue. "Lon'qu is about to get serious..."

The Feroxian swordsmen glares at Lucina as he slowly went into another stance. Wait this stance is different from his other one...

Lon'qu had bent his knees as he slowly sheathed his sword. He crouched low to the ground, he looked as if he was going to charge but somehow I doubt that. His hand was right over the hilt of his blade, giving the gesture that he wasn't surrendering.

That stance...SHIT! I know what he's going to do!

"He's going for a quick draw," I slowly say, looking at the princess. "He's going to wait for Lucina to get close then slash at her in the right moment."

Lucina tilted her head appearing to be confused by Lon'qu's stance. Damn she probably doesn't recognize that technique, I doubt Ylissean sword styles know of such a thing...

If she charges him then she might lose as that technique, when used in the right hands, is dangerous to use. It either can potentially kill someone or injure them, same with the user if used improperly. Though my knowledge I have on that technique is from Anime and other things...

The fact that Lon'qu is even using it, means that it exists in this world. Dammit I can't do anything from up here...

"Well this might decide the winner," Midori says, sounding more exited. "Luckily, I have ten gold pieces on the princess...and the other has five on Lon'qu."

What the hell is she talking about!? What other...

The princess twirled the Falchion and charged at him.

Shit! She's doing what he wants!

Lon'qu stayed still as Lucina sprinted towards him, her blade pointed directly at him. A second later Lon'qu draws out his sword in a rapid motion and slashes at the princess. His blade hits nothing but the open air as Lucina, right at the last moment, had backflipped right over him. She landed right behind him and placed her sword directly on his neck.

The Feroxian swordsman just stood there with his sword stopped in mid-motion, it looked like he was about to swing at her. But Lucina had moved faster then he did...

Holy Shit! She...she just defeated Lon'qu! She somehow managed to dodge that slash and force him into submission.

I guess it was wrong of me to get worried...

"And with a stunning finish...Lon'qu loses!" Midori yells as she claps her hands. "With that...it makes Marth the new champion of the West!"

Lucina said nothing as she sheathed the Falchion, Lon'qu looked displeased as he sheathed his blade as well.

"Hey Basilio!" Midori turns and yells behind us. "You owe me ten gold, get your hairy arse out here and pay me."

Wait...

I turn and looked in the direction the scythe user had yelled at. My eyes widened at the sight before me...

There he was walking down the steps, with that all too familiar bald head and eyepatch...Basilio the Khan of the West.

"Should have known better then to have bet against her." The Khan mutters as he pulls out a small coin purse. He tosses to Midori who had caught it eagerly.

"Heh, should have learned that lesson the day we met." She says, smirking as she puts the coin purse away. "So what do you think, my selection any good?"

"He's definitely champion material..." Basilio looks at me, I flinched at his gaze. Damn he's looks so much like he did in the game...it's rather intimidating.

"Who's the kid?" He asks looking back at Midori.

"A friend from the homeland, and Marth's companion." The scythe user shrugs, "Don't let his exterior fool you, I was told from an asshole reliable source that he held high potential as a tactician."

Why do I get the feeling that she's bullshitting for the sake of making herself look good in Basilio's perspective? Also when did I tell her I was a tactician? Asshole reliable source...that somehow sounds like Jason...damn that might be it.

"Right then," Midori says, clasping her hands together. "Let's head down and greet the new champion."

* * *

"Well that was an interesting day." I say, crossing my arms. "Say Marth, how does it feel being the champion?"

Lucina stayed silent as we continued to walk through the streets. After Basilio had greeted the princess, he formally offered her the position as champion for the west. Predictably she agreed to it...and Midori told us to come back the day of the tournament after she had the team set up.

Midori hadn't explained anything at all...giving the indication that an explanation will happen later. Without Lucina being anywhere near us...really starting to get annoyed by that.

After that, the future child and I were simply escorted out by Midori, who chose to stay behind and say that she'll see us at the Inn later.

"So how's the arm?" I ask, looking at the spot Lon'qu had nicked. "Is is still bleeding?"

"It's fine..." She finally says, surprising in her normal voice. "It's nothing I haven't experienced before."

Stubborn kid...but still...

"You should get that looked at." I simply say, "Even the smallest of cuts can get infected and fester into a problem."

"I'll...be fine." She says, sounding a little annoyed. "It is nothing to worry about..."

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance, I tempted to say something...but I'll hold my tongue for now.

The rest of the of way was completely quiet, say for the occasional group of people we pass by. In honesty I wasn't really paying attention to my surroundings, I was just watching the stubborn little princess next to me making sure she doesn't suddenly fall...again.

Sure those were different circumstances as she was swiped by an undead bear, but still...Lon'qu sure as hell didn't looked like he was holding back.

Kinda makes me wonder...was that how Lucina defeated Lon'qu in the game? The actual fight, not what led up to it...strangely I don't know what to think on that. Maybe it wasn't exactly how she actually beat him...maybe in the game she was lucky or did something different.

Meh, doesn't really matter now since she's the champion.

One thing I'm still wondering...

"Marth can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"How did you figure out that Lon'qu was going for a quick draw?" I ask, tilting my head in curiosity. "Have you ever faced off with someone who uses a similar style?"

The princess stops then looks at me, silently staring at me with that mask. Still tempted to break that mask...

"I-"

"HEY! Leon, Marth over here!"

Me and Lucina look just in time to see Anna approaching us. Oh, it's the succubus...

"So both of you managed to find each other?" The Anna cheerfully says, her eyes looking mischievous as ever. "Jason and I were beginning to worry..."

"Yes, and something I like to ask you Anna." I slowly say, "Why the hell did you set us up!?"

"Why I don't know what you mean..." She slowly says, playfully tilting her head in confusion. "I'm confused to what you are talking about."

Really...she's doing that cheap innocent act.

"Heh, quite but I think you should leave that act for your husband," I say crossing my arms. "I think he'll enjoy it much more then me..."

"Wow, your a pervert..." The merchant mutters, then sighs. "Fine, Jason and I did misdirect you...along with Midori."

"Why?" Lucina asks, "What purpose was there in tricking us?"

"That is a question you should be asking Midori and Jason," Anna says, her face becoming serious. "Both of them came up with the idea, they just ask me to play the part."

"Jason and Midori..." I slowly say, confused by her words. "Why would they...do that?"

"I don't know what those two were thinking," The redhead shrugs, "Like I said, ask them yourself."

She looks at Lucina's injured arm then quickly moves to the bluenette's side.

"What happened?" Anna asks, gently grabbing Lucina's arm.

"Nothing of-"

"Marth got into a fight with the champion." I simply say, interrupting the princess. "As a result the champion lost, and your looking at the new champion of the west."

Lucina glared at me as Anna widened her eyes in surprise. The merchant then looked at the wound and gently moved the cloth around it. The future princess had flinched a little but she still kept her glare at me. Great I've annoyed her again...I'm starting to get used it.

"Well it's a clean cut," The redhead states, she reaches into her pockets and pulls out a familiar looking bottle. "Hold still, I'm going to apply a vulnerary..."

The princess watches Anna carefully as she uncorks the bottle and slowly dips clear liquid onto the cut. She cringes as the wound closes...wow that stuff is rather effective, if only we had that stuff back home. It would have helped so many people...

I wonder what it's made from...since this world is a medieval fantasy setting...most likely these are made from alchemists. Hopefully none of them had even come close to the idea or actual transmutation of a philosopher's stone. If that is true...and I hope it is...then I don't have to worry about the potential dealing with a certain faceless naked white being known as Truth from Full Metal Alchemist.

Though if it is...then that's one possibility of how I got here off the list.

"Okay your good Marth," Anna says, bringing me from my thoughts. "But now there's a tear on your clothes now...see me later and I can stitch it back up."

"Thank you," Lucina slowly says, retracting her arm. "I'll think on your offer..."

"We should head back," I say, gaining their attention. "It might get dark soon."

Anna nodded as moves past me towards the direction of the Inn. The princess silently stared at me for a few seconds then followed after the merchant.

I quickly glance back at the Colosseum, just a few more days before the main events are set in motion. Soon enough the main cast of this world will come...

Heh, it's going to be fun to actually see them.

"Hey Leon, come on."

I turn back to see Anna waving at me, Lucina standing next her with her head tilted in possible curiosity.

I smirk as I took one last glance at the Colosseum, then turn and ran off to catch up with them.

* * *

**A/N: Well I've finally recovered from my sickness I had, but unfortunately the lengths of chapters have not. **

**Short chapter like last time, only that this time there's some actual progress hopefully decent enough. But that is my opinion...**

**So Read, Review, or look for hopefully something better than this fic. As there is much better ones then this out there... **

**Anyway, I would like to thank those who had Favorited, Followed, and Reviewed this story. I'm glad to know that this Fic is worthy enough of your attention for either of these actions. ****I'll be honest in saying that I've never really expected this fic to receive that amount of attention. While some might consider it to be little, it is much more then the number I had expected...much more.**

**So as I said before, to all those that gave their attention to this simple little fic, I greatly thank you.**

**And I hope I do not disappoint you in the future chapters...**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**King Keith: Well I have never played nor heard of those games before, I guess they must be interesting enough for you to think of those kind of ideas.**

**Um...technically there was no indication that Lucina knows Midori, sure Midori had winked at Lucina...but that's because our green eyed scythe wielder is like Leon.**

**I apologize for making you think it was something like that...would have been fun to do if I thought about it first.**

**Heh, I would've responded the same way as well...but with a little more teasing.**


	10. Chapter 10

The streets of the western capital were bustling with life, even throughout the night there always was some form of 'activity' taking place. From the simplest of late night purchases, to the not so cleanliness ones of the brothels, with the 'special' entertainment. Either way the entire western capital was always so...

"Boring and predictable..." The man mutters out as he walks through the streets. His cloak covering his entire body, not letting anyone giving a hint of his possible identity, or to what he was carrying underneath it...as it would be to soon for people to see his face. Along with the factor of...

No, it would be unlikely for that to occur...as the event haven't transpired...yet.

The man smirks to himself as he slowly walks to his destination.

'The Ylisseans would arrive soon...' He thought, 'Then the events would continue to unfold...along with-'

He stops and presses himself against a corner of a building. Two drunk city guards pass by, oblivious to the individual near them. The familiar scent of Feroxian ale reaches the man's nose, almost making him grunt in disgust. Oh how he hated the smell of alcohol, as well in how it makes an intelligent person into a fool in just a few gulps.

The oblivious guards pass by and disappear into the streets of the city. After a minute to be sure, the man resumes his pace to his destination.

'That was too close...' He thought, glancing around the area. 'Even if they were drunk, it would be too soon for a city guard to see my face.'

He smirks himself as his thoughts return to the events at hand.

'It would be nice to see the talents the Ylisseans have, after all...Shepherds must be strong in order to keep their sheep safe.' He almost chuckles as he turns another corner. 'Still...actually testing their talents, is different from just seeing them.' Though that was just his opinion...

'There will be time for that...soon.' He assures himself, attempting to quench his inner desires. 'After my business is done here then...if my luck is willing...the shepherds will show me their talents. After all a-'

"Oi, what are you doing here? You lost friend?"

The mans stops in his tracks, he tilts his head at the sight before him. Three individuals carrying weapons standing in his way in a dark alleyway at night. Oh what an unfortunate luck of his to have taken a wrong turn and end up facing this...display. Truly 'unfortunate'...

"Oi, are you deaf?" One of the individuals asks, "I said what are you-"

"Technically it's asked, not said." The man says, interrupting the individual. "But it is understandable as Regna Ferox holds the stereotype of being barbarians with little to no education."

'At least this isn't Plegia, then we'd be having an entirely different conversation.' He thought, remembering something that felt long ago. 'I really hate Plegia...that mad king really turned it into a shit hole.'

"Are you calling us stupid!?"

That question almost tempted the man to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"No, merely ignorant..." He slowly says glancing at each one of the individuals. "As it seems you are amateurs."

"What?"

"Three men with knives and a sickle, trying to outnumber a single target..." The man states, clicking his tongue. "Either you think I'm an actual problem, or your compensating for your lack of a backbone."

"Heh, quite a mouth you got." One of them, possibly the leader, steps forward. "I'm sure you know how this goes, either you hand over all the gold you got or we'll ma-"

"Now I'm going to stop you right there," The man interrupts, sounding a little bored. "Because it is rather obvious you are not good at this."

"Cause really...three people, one person in a dark alleyway in the middle of night? That is cliche and completely boring cause of a recurring bit...do you want know what that is?"

The three individuals stare at the man in confusion, much to his liking.

'Heh, predictable...' He thought, slowly smirking to himself. 'One carries a sickle, with the others carrying knives. By their surprised looks, it's obvious to see that they expected me to beg for my life. What a bunch of fools...a dog can only bark so much before it is forced to use it's teeth.'

'Too bad for these little pups...they've encountered a wolf...'

"You know what...never mind on what I was saying before," The man says, shrugging to himself. "It's not worth saying anything to dogs like you."

The one individual, still likely the leader, steps in closer to the man. He glares at him as he raises his sickle toward his face. The supposed leader's breath was foul, it almost made the man want to step back in sheer annoyance.

'Why do I always get the ones with the terrible smells?'

"Listen here," The 'Leader' says, sounding a bit threatening. "I'll give you this one chance to-"

_Chink!_

"Heh, what's the matter? Weren't you saying something?" The man asks, smiling to himself as he knew the answer already.

The 'Leader' was staring at him in shock as the man pulled his arm back, revealing what was a blood covered knife in his hand. The individual clutches his neck as he steps back, blood was flowing through his fingers...down to the rest of his body. He chokes and coughs as he falls on to his knees, then falls on his face.

"Hmm...it seems I was wrong," The man merely says in a bored tone. "I thought of you as mere dogs, but in the end...your just pigs in human clothing...ripe for the slaughter."

He twirls the bloody knife in his hands, "Now then, how should this end? Shall you simply charge at me? Or will I chase you down, wasting my time and interest? The choice is your's..."

The two individuals looked at each other before scattering away from the man's presence.

'And here I thought they would foolishly charge...' The man chuckles as he puts away the knife.

It was simply too easy to eliminate the pathetic excuse of a leader, as he had came in close with little regard to the fact that he might have held a weapon. But as he obviously seen...they were mere amateurs with no class at all.

Suppose he could've ended him with another one of his effective ways to kill, but it would have been too messy. He didn't want to get blood all over his cloak...he actually likes wearing this cloak. Besides it would arouse too much suspicion from the city guard, or anyone who actually gives a damn. And that is the last thing he wants...

Though he might have been able to make look like it was the work of a certain cult that worships a certain fell dragon. But that would catch too much attention, and with the Ylisseans soon to arrive. He cannot afford to draw anything that would make them eager to leave.

'Plus there is the factor of a certain blue haired princess,' He thought as he began to move. 'She'll cause to much trouble for me if I do that, besides she's not here for me...her main objective is her father. And I wouldn't want to get in the way of a family reunion...'

So he's left with the option to make it all look like a robbery gone wrong. If only those two didn't run, it would've made it so much easier...

'Oh well,' The man slowly lets out a feral smile. 'Hopefully these two will at least give me some form of entertainment...'

* * *

_As expected from yesterday...Midori and Jason have not given any answers nor any kind of excuse as to why they tricked us._

_Other then the fact that they are jerks, I think it's mainly because of the fact there's little chances to get me away from Lucina. Sure they could've come in to my room in the middle of the night, but the princess had moved from the room she had to one right next to mine..._

_Had asked her about that, and she just glared at me on that...so I changed the subject. Still want to break that mask...and it makes me actually wonder if she ever takes it off..._

_A few possibilities to why the she did that..._

_1) She's become a bit suspicious of Jason and Midori...so she rather be near me in case those two actually try something like that again. _

_Better to be near a potential/technical ally then being cut off and alone...I guess._

_2) She actually likes that room better since it has a smaller window and an actual bathtub. I guess she wants to have a lesser chance of being seen without her mask on...clever girl._

_Moving on from that..._

_Without an actual truth I can only speculate the reasons...I guess I'll ask her when Jason and Midori are not around. _

_Which could be awhile..._

I closed the journal as I look at the sight before me.

Jason was training along Midori, while Lucina and I just quietly watch them go at it. They were merely just doing a form of 'light' sparing while swinging at some practice dummies.

Somehow this Inn has practice dummies that are located at the back of the Inn that has an area wide enough to actually use them. It was actually surprising, I asked Jason about that and he told, more like whispered, me that the Outer Realmers along with his wife had invested in that to be built.

Since a majority of Outer Realmers stay here when they visit the Western Capital...have no idea if he was making that up or telling the truth.

"Say Leon," I hear Midori say, making me look at her. "How about a spar? I want to see how good you are..."

"I-"

"Don't bother him with that," Jason says, cutting me off. "The kid is a novice with no training, understandable since he is one of us."

"Should've figured," Midori adjusts her glasses, "Since it's really unlikely for any of our kind to have military training. Though there are a few exceptions..."

"Exceptions?" I ask, putting away the journal. "You mean some of us that came to these lands...have actual military training?"

Both the merchant and scythe user nodded as they put away their weapons.

"Yeah but we'll tell you about that later," Jason says, walking up to me and Lucina. "But first..."

"We'd like to apologize," Midori says, she walks up next to Jason. "About our actions yesterday, mostly it was my doing."

Both me and Lucina just silently stare at the two. Okay...did not expect them to do this now. What are they up to?

"Midori was suspicious of you Marth," Jason explains, crossing his arms. "Since one of our countrymen has been traveling with you, she wanted to be sure that you meant no harm to him. Despite what I told her...multiple times."

Obvious bullshit is obvious...damn it! They're doing this to fool Lucina so she would lessen her possible suspicion on them, and possibly plan to give me the real explanation later...clever bastards!

"So in case she was a spy or a potential threat, you fabricated a lie." I sum up, glaring at the two. "To see how exactly she react to my 'disappearance'."

Damn it, have no choice but to play along...really starting to hate this.

"Right, she reacted the opposite to what I had suspected," Midori says, adjusting her glasses...again. "She actually showed genuine concern for you, I guess Jason was right when he said you were traveling companions."

"So I apologize," She gets down on her knees and bows to the princess. "Forgive me of my suspicion towards you, as I was merely looking out for someone that is of our lands."

Wow, if I didn't know the fact she was bullshitting...I'd actually would have believed her.

"I...forgive you...Midori," Lucina says, making me look at her in shock. "It is understandable that you would think of me as a threat."

Okay did not expect her to say that, I honestly thought she would be silent...or something else entirely.

"Thank you for understanding," Midori says in a low voice, she quickly stands up and steps back.

"Jason!"

Everyone looked in the direction of voice, just in time to see Anna come running up.

"Jason!" She yells as she tackles Jason to the ground. "We...we..."

"Anna? Anna what's wrong?" The male merchant says in concern as he helps her up. "Did something happen?"

"Jason...we have...the biggest sales opportunity!" Anna practically screams out, "I was able to gain information from a guard, no need to concern you with how, that a group of Ylisseans is coming here to the capital!"

Out of the corner of my eye, Lucina perked up at the last part.

"And?" Jason asks, raising an eyebrow. "What's special about these ones?"

"A little birdie told me that traveling with this group...is the Ylissean prince himself!" The merchant enthusiastically yells, "Think about it...a royal customer! With his deep pockets and my-I mean our selection...we could make a huge profit!"

Figured she would be thinking about gold...still the Shepherds are soon to arrive.

"When will they arrive?" Midori asks, sounding a little bored.

"In half a day or so, maybe sooner." Anna says, showing off a cheery smile. "Just in time for the tournament, who know's...maybe that prince will enter!"

"Well that'll be interesting..." I muttered as I look at Lucina.

The princess was quiet as she was staring at something in the distance. Or at least pretending to...really wondering what she is thinking. Is she excited to see her father again? Or is she nervous in what she has to do?

So many questions...

"Hey Leon, Marth." Jason says, bringing me back to reality. "I have a job offer for you..."

"On what exactly?" I ask, looking back at him.

"Well I need some materials for the shop," He slowly says as he pulls out a slip of paper. "I wrote them down on this list, if you get them for me then I'll pay both of you fifty gold...each."

My eyebrows rise a little in interest, "That much for what ever you have on that list? Why so much?"

The merchant shrugs as he hands me the list.

"Anna and I have to get ready for the Ylissean's arrival," He slowly says, "We're merchants after all...oh and Midori your helping us, no excuses."

Ignoring that last bit, I sighed as I pocketed the list and got up from my spot.

"Marth, you want to help me out?" I ask looking at the princess. "I'm sure it's better then sitting here and looking at the sky all day."

Lucina sighs before nodding at me.

Great...looking forward to a nice conversation with her...

* * *

_Shopping list_

_It's pretty simple for you to find the listed items, as they are located throughout the market square. __Also the bag of gold I gave you should be more than enough to get what is listed. _

_Beware of pickpockets lurking about so keep that __coin purse close to you as much of possible kid. Pay attention to your surroundings, and make sure to stick with Lucina through the whole thing._

_Since you won't last that long on your own... _

_Also don't be lazy about this, at least not to the point were you try to give this to the princess and make her do the shopping. _

_Which won't work since as you can plainly see...this is written in English. So if you give this to her, not only would it make you an asshole, it would make her feel idiotic for not understanding the language._

_Good luck kid...you can thank me later._

_\- Jason_

What a 'concerned' asshole...he's lucky I chose to read this after we left the Inn.

I sighed as I scanned through the rest of the list.

Really...he's making us do that? Actually I should've expected it from yesterday...

"This is interesting," I mutter as look at the princess. "The items listed are rather odd."

"Odd?" She asks, voice sounding forced. "How so?"

Really starting to get annoyed by that fake voice of her's...was Chrom really that dense to figure out that she was faking it?

"Odd would be incorrect," I say, as I pocketed the list. "The items listed are common things, a couple of shirts made for both genders, spare pants for both genders, and extra small clothes...for a boy and a girl."

Lucina tilted her head at the last part. Guess she's a bit confused...

"Jason wants us to get supplies for us," I explain, "As we are entering the tournament, which is in a few days, I'm sure both of us don't want to be smelling terrible when that happens."

Unless she actually likes to smell those kind of smells...meh, won't judge her on that.

The princess says nothing as we pass through the streets in the direction Jason had directed us.

"Marth," I start to say, "Do you think you'll end up facing off against that prince?"

The future child stops and looks at me, she seems surprised by my sudden question.

I sighed as motioned her to follow me into a random alley, at least there we have _some_ privacy.

"I know that I swore to keep that status of your's a secret," I say as I leaned against a wall. "But I want to ask you something, you don't have to answer if you choose to. As it is your business but I want to be sure of something..."

"What is it?" Lucina asks, her voice was normal with an edge of caution.

Okay, any 'questions' asked from this point has to be carefully worded and placed. Can't make her suspicious or make seem like I know she's a time traveler, or already know her true connection to Chrom. I need her to trust me as I would trust her...

"I won't ask you of your exact connection between you and that prince," I slowly say, "As I find that to be too personal to even ask in the first place. What I will ask is...what are your intentions towards this prince?"

"What do you mean?" She asks, still sounding cautious. Her hands were no where near her blade...thankfully.

"Oh come on Marth," I fake a chuckle, "It's not uncommon for royalty of nations to attend events of foreign countries. It's highly possible that this prince is here to enter the tournament...but I am just speculating on that."

I sighed as I cross my arms,"What I'm wondering is if that prince enters the tournament, and by chance he is on the opposite side, what will you do? Since he is from the same country you are from...will you fight him?"

Lucina stays silent as she slowly looks away from me. Great I'm probably making her doubt this or something...I'm going a bit far with this. Even if it is to maintain my character, I shouldn't be doing something like this...or should I?

Dammit...

"Look Marth, forget I said anything." I let out a sigh, "Just know, whatever it is you plan to do...I'll support you...as your tactician and friend."

I fake a grin as I stepped away from the wall.

"Come on, those items aren't going to pick themselves."

About an hour or so, really just guessing, me and the princess were able to get everything in that damnable list. I have to admit I'm a little surprised that the currency system is simple...since like in most medieval fantasy worlds...gold is the most common currency.

I'll be honest in saying that I expected this to be a bit complicated...but that's just my opinion. Though we had to purchase a knapsack to carry the actual items...damn Jason for not giving us anything...

"Is that everything?" Lucina asks, voice sounding forced. I know were in a public place but does she have to do that? The shepherds are not even here yet...so what's the point?

"Yeah," I simply say as I adjusted the knapsack's straps. Really sucks that the shopkeeper selling this did not have one that was in black, there was only gray. At least it wasn't that multi-color one the princess had pointed out. Who the hell thought that blue, orange, red, and _pink..._would make a good look?

Thankfully I convinced her to get the gray one...at least I won't feel like an idiot with that one.

"We should head back," I say, trying to get the memory of that knapsack out of my head.

The princess merely nods as we move through the market.

The market square was as it's name suggests, is a large area in the shape of a square with a market in it. Really simple now that I think about it...

"Leon, Marth, wait up!"

Both of us turned to see Midori walking up toward us.

What is she doing here?

"Midori, aren't you-"

"I slipped away before they even noticed." The green eyed woman interrupts as she looks at Lucina. She stares at the princess then smirks as she adjusts her glasses.

"Say Leon," She slowly says as she looks back at me. "By any chance are you familiar with a story called...Log Horizon?"

Huh? Where is she going with this?

"Of course," I smirked as memories of the anime filled my head. "After all, the 'Villain in Glasses' is one of my favorite characters...along with a certain ninja assassin that served him."

"Heh, mine is a certain swashbuckling feline that has the habit of saying _N__ya~_" Midori purrs out the last part. Have to admit that actually sounded a little...attractive.

Damn my love for Anime...

"Villain in glasses?" Lucina asks, her voice on edge, making us look at her. "You mean to say that you enjoy a story of a villain who preys upon innocents..."

Whoa, she sounds really upset...wait when did we...

"I'll let you explain this one Leon," Midori says as she pats my shoulder and takes a long step back.

I glared at her before looking back at the princess, I seriously hope she doesn't stab me.

"Marth, you misunderstand," I slowly say, doing my best to sound calm. "The 'Villain in Glasses' is a title given to a heroic character named Shiroe, a kind tactician that defends and fights for his friends and the people around him."

"Then why such a title?" She asks sounding confused. "If he is a hero, why would he be named in such a way?"

"He was given that title by his friends for one reason." I smirked as the image of Shiroe came to mind. "His tactics and strategies were so highly effective it scared both his allies and enemies. Especially when he adjusts his glasses the way Midori does with hers, when that happens...his friends know he is coming up with something brilliantly terrifying."

Even though I exaggerated a little about the Villain in Glasses...I really do mean that he is a pretty awesome character. If only he was in this world, as well as Sora and Shiro from No Game No Life. Those three along with Robin could come up with the most amazing strategy to defeat Grima. Most likely in a way that damn dragon will never see coming...

"Well that should explain it," Midori says as she claps her hands together. "Anyway Marth, should you desire to hear the story, I'd be more than happy to oblige...and Leon as well...if he wants to."

"I wouldn't mind..." I merely shrugged, still waiting for Lucina to ask me to tell her about the Dragonborn. Still thinking of her shouting Fus Ro Dah at Grima's stupid face...if only she had a dragon soul.

"I'll...think on that offer." The princess slowly says.

Somehow I smile at that, maybe she might actually decide to listen to a tale or two.

"So Midori," I start to say, deciding to change the subject. "Why are you here anyway? If you ditched Anna and Jason, why come to us? Why not the Colosseum or something?"

The green eyed woman smirked as she adjusts her glasses...again.

"Oh, being around Basilio, Lon'qu and Olivia," She starts to say. "They're fun and all...but it can get a little boring and tiresome living with them. Since Basilio is Basilio...Lon'qu avoids talking to me when we train or backs the hell away whenever I step a little too close, and don't get me started on Olivia. That girl seriously needs to grow a little back bone and stop being so damn shy."

"Um, who's Olivia?" I ask, trying to stay in character. "Is she someone that serves Basilio? Also...you live in the Colosseum!?"

Midoiri giggles as she nods. "Yes, it's a rather comfortable place to stay once and a while, since I am a friend to the Western Khan. Though I'll tell you the day that happened later...since I think it's rather boring."

"But I will tell you about Olivia, I'm sure you'll like her, she's the best dancer, singer and friend I have ever met."

"She sounds pleasant," I mutter as I already know of her already. Come to think of it, how come we didn't see her at the arena? Isn't she a personal servant to Basilio or something?

Meh, I'll ask later...

"Just wait till you hear her sing, you'll fall absolutely in love with her." The green eyed woman smirks, "Especially since I helped her learn some songs from our homeland."

"Wait...you taught her songs from our home!" I almost yell in shock, "Just what exactly did you teach her?"

"Shh," She places two fingers between my lips, playfully tilting her head while doing so. "I don't wish to spoil it, you'll have to wait for it to happen."

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance, she really is trying to play cute...which is actually working but still annoying. Also her hands are surprisingly soft...

"Ahem," Lucina does a mock cough, gaining our attention. "We should be going, as we don't want to gain unwanted attention."

Oh, right...some of the people around us are giving us weird stares.

Fuck! I forgot this was a public place...I'm such an idiot!

"Um, right." Midori says, visibly blushing as she slowly retracted her hand. "We should get going."

I say nothing as we move away from the market place.

That was embarrassing as hell!

* * *

"For the love of Naga Midori, why do you always run off without saying anything!?"

Midori rolled her eyes as she leaned against her palms.

"Oh come on Jace, you know I get bored playing merchant." She says, "Besides we both know that you and your wife are more than enough to fix things up for the shop."

"Not's not the point," Jason says, sounding annoyed. "And don't call me by that damn nickname!"

"I would say that you love it, but your wife is right next to you." The green eyed woman giggles, "Though I'm sure she says it too..."

"Why do you always tease?" Anna asks as she leans against Jason. "Are you really that jealo-"

"We have a kid present Anna," Jason cuts off Anna as he looks at her. "I rather not bore him with our pointless bantering."

"Fine." The redheaded merchant pouts as she steps back. "Meanie..."

"So Leon," Jason says, looking at me. "Have you managed to get the needed items?"

"Yeah, we managed to get them," I slowly say, sitting down on the cold ground. "Also why didn't you say this stuff was for us?"

"Where would the fun be in that?" The merchant smirks as he crossed his arms. "By the way, where's Marth?"

"In her room," I shrugged. "She took the knapsack and went in there before I could ask."

Jason quickly looked at Anna.

"Dear, can you make sure that you buy us a few minutes?" He asks, "Midori and I really need to talk to Leon."

The redhead simply nods before dashing into the Inn.

Jason sighs as he sits down on the ground.

"So what do you want to know?" He asks.

"Just a few things," I simply say, "First, why the hell did you trick me and the princess?"

"That can be answered by Midori," He says, "Provided she wants to-"

"The truth is...I was making sure of something," Midori says cutting off Jason. "Despite what Jason told me, I wanted to see whether or not you were an actual threat to Lucina."

Somehow I'm not surprised...it actually makes sense now that I think about it.

"So I roped Jason and Anna in to help see if your actually one of us." The green eyed woman sighs as she takes off her glasses. "Though I was proven wrong the second you panicked, I'm sorry about that. I was just acting a little idio-"

"It's understandable," I say, interrupting her. "I was an unknown variable and I could've been fooling all of you and planned to kill Lucina. At least you weren't direct as Jason did with me...my stomach hasn't forgotten the pain."

Though I won't mention the part where she slashed her scythe at me...still need to thank Lucina for the save...

"Heh, wasn't my fault you were being a dumbass." Jason chuckles out.

Midori smiles and laughs as she puts her glasses back on.

"Well I bet that would have been a sight to see," She says, still smiling. "Anyway, what else did you want to know?"

"How are you and Basilio acquainted?" I ask, "Do you work for him or you just know each other well?"

"Like I said before, that one I find boring." The green eyed woman sighs. "But since you've proven to be one of us...I tell you how-"

"Jason!? Are you out here!?"

All of us turn to see Anna come out of the Inn with Lucina trailing behind her.

Well there goes that explanation...damn my luck.

"Well this is nice," Midori says as she tilts her head. "Now I don't have to repeat this little story."

Huh?

"What story?" Lucina asks as she moves right next to me.

"Oh, she was going tell Leon how she knew the Khan." Jason explains as Anna sat next to him. "And since your here...you might as well listen in."

"Wait before we continue with this," Midori starts to say. "How about we build a fire first? I get the feeling that we might exchange stories through the night."

"That's actually a good idea," I mumble out loud, "If only we had marshmallows and chocolate to go with it."

"I think we have some chocolate in the carriage," Jason says as he slowly got up. "Plus there's fire wood, Leon would you like to help?"

"Sure, why not?" I got up from my spot. "Lead the way..."

About ten minutes later we ended up gathering back at the back of the Inn. With the apparent permission of the management, Jason was able to get a fire going just in time for it to grow dark.

How the hell did it progress to this?

"Now this is good Jason," Midori says as she was nibbling on her chocolate bar. "Been awhile since I ate one of these..."

"Well considering that Anna and I bought them, I expect nothing less."

I silently snickered as I took a small bite from my chocolate bar. Wonder how much these cost...

Lucina was silently staring at her bar, almost like she had no idea what to do with it. She's been doing that for the past few minutes...right when Jason gave it to her...kinda weird.

"Marth, are you going to eat your chocolate?" I ask, sightly curious.

"You've been staring at the thing for a while," Midori says, sounding curious. "What's wrong, don't like chocolate or sweets in general?"

"...No..." The princess says in a low voice. "I've...never...eaten one before."

Everyone stared at her in shock. She never had chocolate before!? What kind of childhood did she...oh right...shitty future...even if she did had chocolate, I think it might have been a very young age. And now I feel like an ass for asking her...damn it.

"Um," I nervously coughed, "Then...you should...um...have a taste..."

I feel like an idiot...

"What Leon is possibly trying to say Marth," Midori starts to say, as she raises her bar to the night sky. "Is that, don't be nervous or shy or whatever...just have a bite to see if you like it or not."

The princess raised the bar close to her mouth, then took a small bite. Almost immediately after that she starts to nibble on the bar, appearing as if she was enjoying it. Heh, I guess we have our answer...at least she's not Gaius...she'd probably have eaten the whole thing by now.

"So Midori," I start to say, gaining everyone's attention. "How did you exactly meet the Western Khan?"

The scythe user snickered as she bites off a large chunk of her bar.

"Seems I can't avoid explaining...alright I'll tell you," She adjusts her glasses, the lens reflected the fire's light. "It was a few years ago...I was with Jason and another companion, his name was Jon and is unimportant at the moment. And before you ask, yes he is one of our kind."

She sighs, "We came to the capital looking for some honest work for me. At first, I thought being a bodyguard might do the trick, but Jon had convinced me otherwise. Jason was with Anna running their little shop, and I find being a merchant boring...so out sheer stupidity and some curiosity, I thought of challenging the champion...Lon'qu."

Lucina perked up at the mention of the former champion, guess she's as curious as I am to see where this is going. Though I have an idea...

"Naturally when I told Jason and Jon of my little idea, they said/yelled no."

"Jon and I considered it foolish," Jason explains as he smirked. "Since we had no idea how skilled Lon'qu was...but our little Midori naturally didn't listen."

"Not long after Jason and Jon had said no," Midori continues, seeming to ignore the merchant. "I knocked out a few guards and was able to secretly make my way into the Colosseum, after a little exploring I found the arena."

"Instead of finding the champion..." She giggles as she tilted her head. "I found the team that was supposed to back him up in the tournament at the time. But I didn't know what Lon'qu looked like so I guessed that he was one of them."

"So I shouted at the top of my lungs, WHICH ONE OF YOU IDIOTS IS LON'QU!? All of them seemed to looked like they thought I was insane..."

I barely suppressed a laugh as I took a bite from my chocolate bar.

"After that I grew a bit impatient, so I decided to force the champion out. Long story short, I ended up making all of them land on their asses in pain..."

"Wait, how many were there?" I ask.

"Oh, about five or so...I think they were barely putting their team together," She answers. "But their skill set was completely terrible...I easily defeated all of them with a few simple spells..."

"Anyway after all that, Lon'qu and Basilio came running to see what the commotion was about. Needless to say, they did not expect to see me leaning against my scythe in boredom. I immediately asked if either one of them was Lon'qu...and after a short introduction...I outright challenged Lon'qu."

I'm still guessing where this is going...

"When the Khan agreed to it and was a short distance away, I charged Lon'qu." The green eyed woman chuckles as she adjusts glasses. "But he was able to block me and force me on the defensive, he held the advantage due to one fact...I decided not to use my magic. Mostly because I was a bit naive back then...I wanted it to be a match of skills...I wanted to see if he was that good..."

Sounds like she got more than she bargained for...

"I was lucky that I was able to hold off his attacks, and just barely able to get a few hits in." She sighs as she leans against her palm. "But in the end I was beaten, Lon'qu was able to knock me off my feet and place his blade close to my neck. Which almost pissed me off since he almost broke my glasses...if his foot was an inch closer..."

"After that I somehow became friends with them, and it lead to the part time job I have now. I provide services by helping to find potential champions or people that'll help the champion, but I don't participate in the tournaments themselves...out of choice really."

She takes one last bite of the chocolate bar, "Well that's all I have to say...told you it was boring."

"That was interesting..." I muttered as I looked at Lucina.

The princess was quietly starring at the scythe user, what was left of the chocolate bar was just it's wrapper. I guess she actually liked it...

"So Leon do you have any stories to share?" Midori asks, making me look back at her. "The night is still young..."

"Um...I don't really have anything..." I shrugged as I took another bite of my chocolate bar.

"How about something from home?" The green eyed woman suggests, not letting up. "How about Log Horizon? Surely your familiar enough to tell of it..."

"Fine..." I sigh out as I finished the last of the chocolate bar. "I'll tell a little bit on that one..."

Midori leaned against her palms in anticipation, while Lucina along with Jason and Anna merely wait patiently.

Dammit, I really have to do this don't I? Screw it, I'll say what I can, plus I'll have to change somethings since the princess is listening...

"...Long ago in another realm," I slowly start to say, "There existed a powerful type of magic...that allowed it's users minds to travel into other worlds. Worlds that were created for the sole purpose of people to gather and travel with their friends in boundless adventures and quests. This is tale of one such world, in where the people identified as 'Adventurers'...find themselves in a situation they never came to expect...as they find themselves to be alive and trapped in a world only known as...Elder Tales..."

* * *

_The tournament is today...Midori said that she will come for us by noon. Giving us enough to eat and nervously wait..._

_The past few days went by in a blur, there was the involvement of training with Lucina. But other then that...there wasn't much else to do...no one other then Jason and Anna leave the Inn. _

_Mostly just for supplies and the bare essentials..._

_By random thought, and boredom...I had shut myself in my room and decided to think up possible strategies for the upcoming fight. Needless to say that they were really simple and not that complicated...only one problem. We're supposed to lose, and I've been making plans that are meant for us to win. Sure it would be a simple act of sabotage to make those plans go to waste...but that is easier said then done._

_Thing is...I'm going to be against Robin...The Robin...the master tactician who is always three steps ahead. If I purposely screw up a plan, Robin might pick up on it and become a little suspicious...plus it's Robin!_

_I know I might lose either way, so why not go all out against him/her?_

_Dammit, why the hell am I even thinking this!? I don't even want to be a tactician yet here I am in this room trying my best to think up ways to fight an opponent who outclasses me...damn my shitty luck._

"Damn it," I curse under my breath as I flip to another page. "There's gotta be something that works..."

I tightly gripped the journal as I skim through the ideas I written down. If Robin is as good as I suspect...then these plans can be seen through and countered really easily.

Maybe I can use that to my advantage! But first I have to clear up one last thing...and it involves a certain bluenette.

Quietly I put away the journal and stepped out of my room. I sighed as I stop at the door next to mine...

"Marth," I slowly say as I knock lightly on the door. "Can I come in?"

"...Yes" A barely audible answer was heard.

Slowly I open the door and step inside, the princess was standing on the other side. She was looking through the window, which just provided a view of the Colosseum.

"Sorry to bother you," I say as I closed the door behind me. "But I wanted to ask you something important."

"What is it?" She asks as she looks at me.

"Do you want to win or lose in the tournament?" I blurt out a little too quickly. Shit, I messed up, I was supposed to say something else first...

"What do you mean?" She asks, her voice had an edge of caution.

Dammit, gonna have to make up as I go...I really can't mess up on this...

"The job of a tactician is to help their commanders achieve victory," I slowly start to say, "At least that's what most people think...however I think of it a little differently."

"How so?" The future child asks.

"Somehow I see being a tactician as more than just a person that helps achieve victory," I cross my arms, "...I can't really explain what exactly I'm actually trying to say though..."

Because I'm an idiot...

"Look, I just want to know if you want to win," I slowly say, "As Jason had told me some interesting rumors about the Ylissean prince's true reason he's here."

"What rumors?" She asks, voice on edge. "What did Jason tell you?"

"He heard this off some guy that worked in the Colosseum," I simply say, "He told him that the prince wishes to make an alliance with Regna Ferox, something about Ylisse being attacked by bandit raids, supposedly because of their neighbor...Plegia."

The princess's hands clenched at the mention of the country, but released them a second later.

She's trying to control her emotions...my guess is the mention of that country upsets her a little. Understandable...since because it's home to that damn cult...

"In order to actually gain the alliance, he has to fight in the arena...for the East Khan." I sigh, "Marth I know that I said that I'll support you in whatever choice you make...but I want to know what exactly do you want to do. I can't help you without that bit of knowledge..."

Lucina stares at me as her hands clench once again.

Dammit, I probably screwed up...have to backtrack...

"Look, you don't have tell me right this second," I quickly say, "Just let me know when we are about to enter the arena, I'll have a strategy ready by then. "

Highly unlikely since I'm not a real tactician...I'm just a dumbass pretending to be one.

I quickly turn and open the door...

"Midori should be here soon...so I'll wait for wait for you outside the Inn."

The princess says nothing as I step out and close the door.

I really didn't help at all back there, I probably did more harm then good. Had to lie to her of the 'rumors' that Jason was luckily enough to hear. I just gave her nothing but bullshit...all to try to see if there was a way I can help.

I'm such an asshole...

I gritted my teeth in frustration as I take out the journal...

That little stunt brought no help at all...I need to think of another plan. Problem is that I have no idea who we're going to be paired up with in the tournament. The ideas I had could work decently if the team we get is cooperative...but if we get one that's not...then we are fucked.

I know she's supposed to lose this fight, but I can't help this desire I have to at least to try to win. Call it stubborn pride or whatever...but I actually want to take on that Master tactician with everything I have...

Which is stupid since if by some inconceivable chance that we win, then Ylisse won't get their alliance and this world is screwed. Unless...as reward for winning...and by request from 'Marth'...Basilio might gain the Ylisseans the needed alliance.

But somehow I doubt that will happen...

"Leon? Why are you out here?"

Huh?

I blinked as I barely registered the fact that I was outside and Midori was in front of me.

"M-Midori?" I stutter, "Is it noon already?"

"Just about," She says as she adjusted her glasses. "Just came a little early to announce something important."

"And that is?"

"There is no available team for you in the tournament," She simply says. "Not a single one..."

"Wait...what!?"

"Yeah, mostly because the people that were supposed to be your team, were nothing but idiots in it for the glory." She explains, waving it off. "I doubt that they would've listened to what you had to say, so I 'accidentally' mistook them for my punching bags."

If this was an Anime...I think I would be sweat dropping right about now.

"Because of that little mix up, I have some good news." The green eyed woman smiles as she winks at me and gives me a thumbs up. "Your looking at the third member of our six man team!"

"...What?" That one word is my entire reaction to what she just said.

"Yeah, I pulled some strings with Basilio," Midori says as she puts her arm down. "And I along with you, Jason, Anna and Lon'qu. Will be the team that supports Marth in the tournament."

Again...what!?

"Let me get this straight," I slowly say, "You literally beat the crap out of some random people just so you and the others can be a part of the tournament?"

"Pretty much," She shrugs as she adjusts her glasses. "Plus they made fun of my glasses and my scythe...they really shouldn't have done that."

Have no idea at this point whether or not to actually believe her...

"Oh, hey Marth."

I quickly look back in the direction Midori was looking at.

Lucina was walking toward us, the Falchion was strapped to her side and the rapier is in her hands. She stops right next to me and gives a nod to Midori and looks back at me.

"Here," She simply says as she hands the rapier over. "You'll need this in order to defend yourself."

"Thanks," Was all I can say as I take the blade into my hands. Guess she trusts me enough to hand it over this early...

"So you guys ready to go?" Midori asks as she crosses her arms. "Our team awaits us..."

The princess and I merely nodded as the scythe user turns and motions us to follow.

I tightly gripped the rapier as I follow them towards the Colosseum.

This is it isn't it?

Today...I'll actually get to see the shepherds and possibly get my ass kicked by them.

...What a fun day this might turn out to be.

* * *

**A/N: In my opinion, I have no valid excuse for why this took so long to get out. I was rather busy with my personal life...and other things. That may or may not involve the new Witcher game...**

**I just hope this chapter was decent enough to be worth the wait...if not then I'm sorry to disappoint.**

**So Read, Review or hopefully find something better to read.**

**Still if your somehow still reading this up till now, then I guess I've really done something to keep your interest.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**RoseWarden:**** (Responding to your reviews in order, sorry if it confuses you a little.)**

**Never really knew Anna had sweethearts in the past games...then again I sadly never played the other games before.**

**Leon by definition is a novice, actually he has little skill whatsoever to actually survive.**

**Half tempted to answer those questions...but it might spoil the story...heh, not kidding.**

**Lucina and Robin are one of my favorite pairings in the game, though I too wonder how Robin will be like.**

**If it was actually Severa, then Leon would have been dead from the beginning! I'm sure Severa can tolerate Owain to a certain extent, mostly cause of their supports, but I seriously doubt that with Leon...yeah definitely would be dead.**

**Still half tempted to answer them...but I along with everyone else have to wait till they come naturally. (And in a hopefully decent way...)**

**But what I can say is that Midori's Scythe is long as death reaper's...if you haven't guess it till now since I was a little vague about it. **

**A bee grenade? Meh, have to admit that would be awesome...since I don't anyone would expect that.**

**Yeah, winding up in Plegia would be the definition of bad luck, especially anywhere near Validar...you'd be screwed by then...**

**Thanks it took so long for me to come up with that fight. Since I have no actual idea in how Lucina defeated Lon'qu...I thought it might explain it in the game but alas there was no support between Lucina and Lon'qu.**

**Really excited about the that fight as well, so many possibilities in how that will go down.**

**cra0007: Wow didn't think that someone would think of this story like that...**

**Anyway I've tried my best to make this work in some form of originality and not potentially make the main character a Mary-Sue.**

**Meh, I suppose the name would be strange to some. Since it is a combination of two different charaters...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Warning...there will be some point of views shifting between certain characters in this chapter. **

**Sorry if it's a bit confusing...**

* * *

"So Leon, do you have a plan?"

I say nothing as the rapier shakes a little in my hands.

Have to admit that I do feel a bit nervous and scared about this...never really done anything like this...because of obvious reasons.

At least I don't feel like throwing up...that would have been pretty bad...and embarrassingly pathetic.

"Don't ignore me Leon," Midori warns as she steps closer to me. "Come on aren't you supposed to be our tactician?"

"I'm not ignoring you," I muttered as I tightly gripped the rapier. "I'm just...thinking on a possible strategy."

"Oh, and what is it?" She asks tilting her head in interest.

"I'll let you know when I'm finished..."

The scythe user rolled her eyes as she moves next to Lucina.

Ignoring what ever she was saying to the princess, I sighed as I kept my eyes forward on our destination. The Colosseum...the arena...the tournament...this whole entire thing really. I know that I forced myself to accept the fact that I'm actually in this world...but still...its hard to truly believe it's real...

I shake my head in an attempt to cast those thoughts aside. Dammit, I'm supposed to think of a way to fight Robin, not think about that...

I wasn't lying when I said I was coming up with a strategy, but it is one that I not really sure will work. I have to see who Robin had decided to take into the arena...Chrom will obviously be there, so will Robin...but who else is completely unknown right now.

"Well, we're here..." Midori says, bringing me back to reality. "Come on, the others are waiting inside."

I blinked as I just barely register the fact that we're here. Great, all that time to think and I still don't know what to do...

Damn my luck...

"Dammit," The scythe user mutters, "That crowd is at the entrance...we're going to have to go another way."

Huh?

I glance in the direction of the entrance, sure enough there was a large body of people trying to squeeze themselves into the Colosseum.

Wow, that is a lot of people...

"Follow me," Midori says as she moves ahead of us. "I know a way in from the side."

Me and the princess simply follow after her...

About what felt like ten minutes, or an hour in my nervous perspective, we slip through a guarded entrance into the arena.

"Just through here," Midori says, smirking at me and Lucina. "We have to use another entrance of the arena, since this is the tournament so it has to be dramatic."

"Is there any rules we should know?" I ask, "Besides not actually killing anyone..." Which I'm thankful for...

"Other than that," The green eyed woman starts to say. "There's no healing magic allowed to ensure fairness, no mounts, serious injuring or maiming are not allowed. But I'd be careful, not everyone actually obeys those rules, seen some gruesome deaths...all because some dumbasses want to insult the Khans."

"Wait...people actually died in these tournaments?" I nervously ask.

"Yeah, plenty happened on accident, but some were assholes who tried to kill a Khan's champion." She explains, "That last one happened a while back...the East Khan had lost her champion... the guy did survive but he lost the ability to use his left arm."

"Anyway you shouldn't let that worry you," She quickly adds, trying to wave it off. "The whole bloody politics thing doesn't happen that often...but to be sure...watch yourself out there. You understand?"

The princess merely nods as I just nervously gulp...

The green eyed woman smirks as we stop at a random set of doors.

"Alright, the others should be getting ready inside of there." She says as she pushes the door open. "Come on let's meet up with-"

"Midori!"

The doors open just in time to see Jason, Anna and Lon'qu walking toward us.

"What took you so long?" Jason asks as he grips his English style long sword. "Did you take a side trip or something?"

"Heh, I'll let you guess that," Midori giggles as she adjusts her glasses. "Hey Lon'qu, you ready to fight?"

The Feroxian swordsman says nothing as he just glares at her.

"Good to know," The green eyed woman says as she places a hand on my shoulder. "Also this one will be our tactician, so please listen to him...even though both of us know that he's way too weak."

She pats my head, "Plus I cleared this with Basilio, now stop giving me that look and prepare to kick some arse."

Lon'qu just stayed silent as he stood some distance away from us. Mostly I guess since there are two girls near the door...Lucina doesn't count cause he thinks she's a boy.

"So," I start to say, gently removing Midori's hand from my head. "Jason, are you and Anna volunteering? Or did Midori-"

"Volunteering," Jason says, interrupting me. "Mostly cause it's been a while since Anna and I have been involved in events like this..."

"Plus, I made a lot of sales in the past few days," Anna says as she goes into her signature pose. "And with the placement of certain bets, I'm-I mean me and Jason are bound to make some profits!"

"And there's that..." Jason mutters, rolling his eyes. "Always looking to profit off of something...even our...never mind."

Not going to bother to ask what he meant by that...but if it involves Anna...then it might of been something important.

"And with that...is everyone ready?" Midori asks, "Cause once we enter the arena, the tournament will start shortly after that."

"Have the Ylisseans arrived?" I ask, mostly for Lucina's sake. Not really...

"No one has told us anything." Jason says as he crosses his arms. "But it's likely that they are getting ready as well."

Figures he might say that...still a few minutes more...and I'll see them...damn I'm nervous.

"Alright then," Midori says, gaining everyone's attention. "As you can see on the other side of the room, there's another set of doors. That leads to the arena, Marth will you do the honors by opening them? After all it is tradition for the champion to lead the team into the arena."

The princess merely nods as she moves to the doors, she quickly glances back at us, then places her hands on the doors.

Okay, prepare yourself for a possible large crowd...a large crowd of people that will have ALL EYES on you.

EVERY...SINGLE...ONE...OF...THEM...WILL...BE...WATCHING YOU! SO TRY NOT TO EMBARRASS YOURSELF...OR GET KILLED!

Gods I'm so nervous...at least I managed to teach myself how to curse like those in this world. Makes it a bit easier to blend in...or will that make me more suspicious since I'm supposed to be a foreigner? Maybe if I mix some curses from home and this world to make it less suspicious...

...And I'm desperate enough to try to calm myself by thinking ways how to curse...I'm really pathetic aren't I?

Lucina pushes the doors open, gentler compared to what Midori did last time, slowly revealing what was on the other side.

As soon as the doors fully opened, all I could hear was a large roar of cheers from crowds of people in the stands. As far as I could see, every one of the seats of the stands were filled up. Even some of the stairs had small groups of people, wanting to watch the up coming fight.

There's so many of them...oh god...I can feel the stares already!

"This is definitely more then last time's," I somehow hear Midori mutter under the crowds roaring. "Guess they wanted to see the new champion."

"I'm going to make a fortune!" I hear a certain gold succubus yell.

"Heh, why do I have the sudden urge to scream are you not entertained?" Jason asks to no one in particular, somehow sounding bored.

Lon'qu and Lucina were silent as all of us came to a stop.

I glance around the arena, there was no one else but us...guess the Shepherds are a bit late...

* * *

'Well this is an interesting development,' The man thought as he rested his head in his hands.

It was easy for him to infiltrate the Colosseum, as he had done it before. But that was for a different matter...

He causally stares and analyzes each one of the contestants that stood by the princess.

'One with a long sword, that infamous redheaded merchant, the former champion, a scythe user, and what appears to be a rapier user.' He narrows his eyes in interest, 'Now how did the princess come to gain their support?'

'Doubt that this is by random chance,' He shakes his head, 'No...something else is involved with this...but what is it?'

The man narrows his eyes as his sight rests on the on the princess.

'I doubt she will be in this to actually win, as that would will go against her in the long run...' He ponders as he leans against a support column. Due to the fact that he found crowds to be annoying, he decided it was better for him to watch this event from above the stands.

Better chance of not being spotted that way...since who actually looks above themselves in events like these?

Very few actually...

Though as a factor of caution, he rendered any guards that patrolled near his spot...unconscious. Sure he could of ended them, but it would have been annoying to find a spot to hide the bodies. Besides he was here for strictly observational purposes only.

Why spoil the fun by letting some blood spill?

'Whatever the case, the events should proceed as they should,' He thought as he quietly sat down. 'That is the likeliest scenario...but if something happens that causes it to be altered...'

"Then I'll have to step in..." He quietly stated, "Otherwise everything will go to hell...and no one would want that."

'Not even me...' He slowly grins as he hear the familiar sounds of the arena's doors opening.

'They finally arrived,' He thought as he looked at the area where the Ylissean's should be arriving from. 'Heh, this should be interesting and fun to watch...'

'After all..._that_ tactician is leading them...'

* * *

They're finally here...the shepherds are finally here...

Did I say I was nervous before? Well now...I am completely TERRIFIED!

I tightly gripped the rapier as I watch the figures come into view.

The crowd was roaring and cheering like crazy...

I glance at the princess who was just staring at the figure at the center. Her hands were at her sides...they were clenched. Out of excitement...or nervousness...I cannot say.

"So the prince is actually here," I hear Midori say, sounding a little excited. "Well this will be fun..."

I look back at the figures and my eyes widen at the sight.

There they were standing some distance away...the main characters of this world...

The Ylissean prince himself...Chrom, was right there with the Falchion strapped to his side. Yeah...he looks exactly like he did in the game...blue hair...armored shoulder...and if I get close enough I'm sure I'll end up seeing that all too familiar Mark of the Exalt.

He seemed to be starring at Lucina from what I can tell, guess he's surprised to see her. Or him in the prince's perspective...

Next to him was I assume to be Robin, and I say assume because it's a person wearing a certain set of awesome purple robes. Who for some reason...decided it was best for him/her to wear the cowl that cover his/her face!

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance at that...at least that helped a little with my nervousness.

Next to Chrom was the ever so loyal knight Frederick, only that instead of being on his horse, he was standing next to his prince. He was holding a blue colored shield with a sword strapped to his side. An odd sight since I kinda expected him to be using a lance.

Close to the knight was the familiar sight of a certain redheaded knight Sully who like Frederick, was on her feet and carrying a shield, but she was holding a lance instead of a sword.

What's with Sully and Frederick not being on their...oh right, Midori said something about there being no mounts allowed. That kinda sucks...

Adjacent to the crimson knight was a bare chested blonde haired man, Vaike...or as he tends to refer to himself...Teach. He had a ax on his shoulder, funny since I'm sure he lost it on the way here...

Next to him was...was...wait.

Who the hell is that guy!?

I merely blink at what I was seeing...it was a dark haired man wearing some kind of dark leather armor, with a sword strapped to his back.

Again...who the hell is that!?

"Heh, so he's finally joined them..." I hear Jason say, making me look at him. "About damn time..."

"Wait, you know that guy?" I ask, doing my best to sound calm. Can't make Lucina suspicious of me now...

The merchant merely smirked as he shrugged.

"You could say that we had an encounter or two, I'll tell you about that later..."

By later you mean without the princess around...getting a bit predictable aren't you?

I rolled my eyes as I look back at Lucina.

The future child was staring a both of us, then looked back at the Shepherds.

Great, we just made her a bit suspicious...still though, by any chance does she know anything about that guy? Or is she curious to know who he is as well?

Not going to get the answers right now, better to ask later...

"The tournament is about to begin soon, just have to wait for the horns." I hear Midori say, sounding excited. "Leon, in whatever your planning, I want you to make sure I take on the Knight in blue...alone."

Huh?

"Wait, what?" I ask, looking at her.

The green eyed woman merely giggles as she unstraps her scythe.

"I want to see what that knight is capable of..." She says as she leans against the weapon. "I would have asked for the prince, but I'm sure you have plans for him."

"Which reminds me," Jason starts to say, making me look at him. "What is your plan exactly?"

Well...shit, have no choice but to make up as I go...unless...I mix it up a little with what I had before...which could work...for Lucina.

I glance at each one of them, starring at Anna, Lon'qu, Jason, Midori, then finally Lucina.

"My...plan," I start to say, doing my best to shrug off my nervousness. "Is to divide and conquer..."

Everyone silently stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

Okay...now for the hard part...

"Each one of us will take on a Ylissean," I slowly say, "We'll keep them separate from each other, doing what we can to prevent them from working together."

I glance at the scythe user, "Midori...as you want, take on the knight in blue armor. He looks pretty strong...so be careful he's most likely well trained."

She smiles at me as she gripped her scythe, "Oh, no need to worry...we'll get along just great."

Why do I suddenly feel worried for Frederick right now? Meh, could be just nerves...

I nod as I look at Anna, let's see who she can take...maybe...

"Anna, take the knight in crimson...from what I seen when we trained...your speed should be an easy counter to whatever that knight is capable of."

The merchant merely winks at me as she places her hand on her steel sword. I just hope she doesn't underestimate Sully...that woman is strong.

I glance at Lon'qu, the Feroxian silently stares at me, making me feel a bit intimidated.

"Lon'qu..." I say a little nervously. "Take the blonde haired one wielding the ax, I'm pretty sure your faster and stronger than that guy, but he might worth a challenge."

The swordsman simply stares at me, before nodding then looking in the direction Vaike was. Okay, I feel a little less scared of that guy, hopefully Vaike will be more then enough to keep Lon'qu busy.

If luck will have it...then those two will become friends when the Feroxian joins the Shepherds.

I mentally smirked as I look at the princess, now for the last part...

"Marth," I slowly start to say, "You and I will take on on the prince and the person in the purple robes, though I have little skill whatsoever...I'll do my best to help."

Lucina merely nods as Jason does a mock cough, gaining our attention.

"And I assume that I'll take the person I know?" He asks, somehow sounding bored and excited. "Which is actually a clever choice..."

"Um...right." I say, desperate to hide a developing blush. "Yeah that's it..."

Not going to say that I completely forgot about him, and that guy on the other side...that would be too embarrassing.

The merchant smirks at me as he grips his English style long sword.

"Heh, alright then..." He says, "If you say so..._tactician_."

Why does it feel like he just insulted me?

The noises from the crowd begin to die down, making me look at them in curiosity.

What are they...

"Their waiting for the horns," Midori explains, causing me to look at her. "The horns signal the beginning of the tournament, which takes forever since the Khan's are the ones blowing them."

"Didn't last time take a while because of you?" Jason asks, "Something about using one of the horns and a set of drums for-"

"Don't. Even. Mention. That!" The green eyed woman growls out, visibly irritated. "What happened last time was an accident, let's leave it at that!"

Um...what are they even talking about? Really, what could be so bad with a horn and a set of drums?

"At least they found a replacement..." Jason mutters, "Since the other one was-"

"Stop talking or I'll hit you with fists full of air." Midori threatens as green air began to dance around her hands.

Should I step in? Screw it...

"Um, I think you should save that kind of talk for the Ylisseans." I nervously say, stepping in between both of them. "Aren't we here to help Marth fight them, not each other?"

Both of them just stare at me then at each other and shrug.

"Heh, wasn't really serious." Midori giggles as the air dissipates from her hands. "Don't worry Leon, it takes much more then that to really set me off."

"Which few have experienced," Jason adds as he smirked. "Luckily I'm not one of them."

"That's only because I actually like Anna," The green eyed woman giggles, "Since she-"

What ever she was going to say was cut off as the crowd roared in an echo of cheers. I glance at them again, okay what are they cheering about now?

"Oh, the Khans are here." Midori says, answering the question I was thinking.

I scan around the stands, searching for the familiar faces of the Khans.

Where are they? I don't see them anywhere...unless their not in the stands, which wouldn't make any sense at all.

Well, I really am a dumbass...

I discreetly take a look at the scythe user, she was starring at something behind us. My eyes slowly moved in that direction...oh, there's Basilio with...a horn.

The Western Khan was standing in some kind of platform that overlooked the arena, behind him was throne like chair. Obviously the spot where he is going to watch us get slaughtered, feel a little sad that we're going to lose anyway. But Ylisse needs that alliance...so hopefully he doesn't take the loss too hard...he didn't in the game.

Now I wondering why Chrom didn't just ask Basilio instead...somehow I think it would have been somewhat easier. All he would need to do is to prove himself...though that might of made him fight in tournament with Lucina by his side. Wonder how that would have gone...

Dammit, stop thinking about this...your about to fight _Robin_! You need to get your head together!

The crowd roars again, bringing me from my thoughts in time to see Basilio bring the horn up to his lips.

This is going to be a long fight, isn't it?

The sounds from the horn echo across the arena, a second later another sound of a horn goes off but from the other side. Which I assume to be Flavia blowing her horn as well...

Guess she had to wait for Basilio to start it...

"Alright then Leon," Midori starts to say, making me look at her. "We'll keep the others off of you, just focus on the prince and his friend!"

And with that, Anna, Jason, Midori and Lon'qu all just rush towards the center of the arena.

Lucina was about to rush forward as well but I grabbed her arm.

"Wait," I say as I struggled to hold her back. "Let the prince and that friend of his come to us. It'll be easier to face them when they're separated from their allies."

The princess just glared at me as I slowly let go, she sighs before finally nodding.

Okay, managed to convince her, now how is Robin going to respond?

I glance at the area the tactician was at, and raised an eyebrow.

Robin already appeared to be issuing orders, bringing Frederick and Sully to the front as Vaike and the unknown guy go at the sides. The tactician and the prince stood in the center...with a wall of people between them and us.

"A phalanx type formation," I slowly say out loud. "How clever, that tactician is keeping everyone together...not gonna chance a one on one scenario."

Damn, should've expected that...this is Robin after all...always three steps ahead.

"Is there a way to break through it?" I hear Lucina ask in her normal voice.

Huh, she really wants to fight her father...maybe I was looking at this wrong...maybe she isn't here for any reason at all...maybe she just wants to see him. I guess I can help her with that...I just need to help her create an opening.

"Not from what I can tell," I shook my head, slowly placing my hand on the hilt of the rapier. "This tactician might of guessed that we will try to separate them, and has probably set up counter measures."

Translation...I have no idea...yeah need to learn on how to actually to be a tactician...later.

Jason and the others stopped as soon as they reached the center. They looked to be starring off with the Ylisseans...

Wait...what are they doing?

* * *

"Midori," Jason starts to say as he gripped his weapon. "Care to help out?"

"On it," The battlemage says as she laid down her scythe. "Just give me a second..."

The merchant smirked as he stared at the Ylisseans.

'Guess this Robin is clever enough to figure us out,' He thought as he crossed his arms. 'Wonder if it's the male or female version...can't really tell.'

"Okay I'm ready," Midori announces as she steps forward, magical air dancing at her fingertips. "You might want to step back..."

Everyone obeyed the woman as she brought her hands together, the Ylisseans were starring at her in what appeared to be confusion and shock.

'Not surprising since it is the first time seeing someone use magic without a tome,' He thought as he braced himself. 'I just hope she doesn't overdo it...as I doubt those knight's shields are enchanted.'

"Sen-I-Soshitsu!" Midori screams out as she launches a large blast of wind from her hands.

"Scatter!" Jason heard the Ylissean prince yell as the Shepherds jump in random directions.

The merchant raised an eyebrow as the Ylisseans managed to avoid Midori's attack. Then sighed as the battlemage launches another blast that caused the Shepherds to be driven apart by a short distance.

'And she over does it,' He thought as he slowly drew his blade. 'At least they separated...though not as far as I'd hoped.'

"Damn, it wasn't as strong as I wanted it," The scythe user complains as she moved to retrieve her weapon. "Didn't draw enough mana..."

Jason rolled his eyes, "Your terrible reference didn't help either, your missing that scissor blade."

"Shut up," The battlemage responds as she twirls her scythe. "It was the heat of the moment."

"Your wishing for a Kamui right now aren't you," He joked as he gripped his sword. "Everyone knows what to do right? Good, then let's not disappoint our champion and tactician."

Not even waiting for a possible response, Jason ran toward his target.

'Need to get him as far back as possible,' He thought as he increased his speed. 'Then we'll have a nice little conversation...'

Within a few seconds he reached the target, who was already on his feet and had his weapon drawn.

The merchant smirked as he drew his blade, the target merely chuckles.

"Really," Jason says, his tone filled with boredom. "You know that doesn't work on me."

"Heh, it's still fun to try Jason," His target says as he tilted his head. "So why are you here?"

"Let's just say things grew a bit...complicated." The merchant merely says as he motions to something behind him. "We might want to talk a little further away..."

"Understood..." Was all his target said as he charges at the merchant.

Jason blocks his attack then pushes him back, he quickly moves away with his target not far behind.

"This should be good enough," The merchant says as brings himself to a defensive stance. In case one of the shepherds decides to take a look.

His target nods as he takes an offensive looking stance.

"So what's the complication?" He asks.

"Behind me, next to the princess, you'll see..."

The man discreetly inched his head to look.

"So that's why your here." His target narrows his eyes. "Who is he, and is he a potential problem?"

"Not from what I have seen, as he is definitely one of us." Jason says as he shrugged. "Midori can vouch for him as well...and we both know how she is with newbies."

His target nods as he changes his stance to more defensive one.

"He's been traveling with Lucina." The merchant continues, going in a offensive stance. "Not that long from what I can tell, but he hasn't been exactly clear in how he encountered her."

"Why?"

"Don't know but it might involve Risen, the kid asked me a while back if there was something different about them."

"How different?"

Jason shrugs, "Again, don't know, he didn't say what exactly. But it seemed to freak him out, whatever it is...somehow I think he might tell us."

"Anything else I should know?"

"He's pretending to be a tactician...not exactly the best job."

His target just stares at him, then laughs as he goes into an offensive stance.

"Of all things it had to be that," He says, "Still...I should talk to him...as you said Jason, he is one of us."

"Right, now that's out of the way, how about a spar? Since we don't want to displease the crowd."

At an almost synchronized speed, both the merchant and his target clash their blades.

"How long has it been since we last fought, Jon?" Jason asks, smirking to himself.

"A few months, but nothing has changed..." Jon says as he too adopts a smirk. "I've always been able to beat you...brother."

* * *

Midori giggled as she slowly approached her opponent, the immense joy she was feeling was hard to contain.

'Can't believe I'm facing off against that heroic knight himself,' She thought as she twirled her scythe. 'Heh, this is going to fun...if only there was music with this. Oh well...have to work with what I got.'

"Why hello there handsome," She beams as she stops in front of the great knight. "My name is Midori Dedmaster, _pleasure_ to meet you."

The knight says nothing as he goes into a defensive stance, making Midori giggle at that.

'Have to admit that he looks cute...'

"Oh, your cautious that I'll launch magic at you," She says, adjusting her glasses. "Smart..."

She notices the knight was carefully glancing around him, obviously looking for his allies or his prince.

"Sorry...but we have to fight one on one," The battlemage says as she playfully smirked and tilted her head. "Don't worry I'm sure your prince can take care of himself."

Frederick narrowed his eyes at her, but chose to remain silent.

'That's a little weird,' She thought, 'I figured he'd say something, did I freak him-'

The knight dashed to the side, and charges forward. Barely giving her enough time to block against the knight's shield with her scythe.

"Damn, your really want to get away." She says as she visibly prepares a spell. "But unfortunately..."

The mana was visibly dancing between her fingers, a tingling feeling she always enjoyed. Frederick seemed to notice as he quickly jumped back and brought up his shield.

"You have to get through me...so let's have some fun, _N__ya~_?" Midori asks as she holds out her hand, ready to cast again.

* * *

Okay, what just happened?

I mean, other then the fact that Midori just used her magic and probably freaked the shepherds out in the process. Which undoubtedly will cause them to ask her about that later...don't know what will happen when they do that.

I shake my head as I let my thoughts come together...

Everyone's where they're supposed to be, Midori is taking on Frederick, Anna is toying with Sully, Lon'qu has Vaike, and Jason is with that other guy. Everything seems in order...now for the hard part.

"Marth," I slowly say, looking at the princess. "You ready?"

She nods, not even asking for what I meant.

I glance back to where I saw the tactician and the prince land, have to admit that Midori did launch them a good distance. At least from what I can tell...

Robin and Chrom were already on their feet and looking at was happening. The prince was saying something to the tactician...obviously I couldn't hear what. He looked in the direction where Midori and Frederick were...I guess because they were the closest, and was about to move when Robin grabbed his arm.

The prince looked back at Robin who was probably saying something to him then points in our direction. My guess is the certain bluenette princess right next to me...maybe I should motivate them a little...which may end up getting my ass kicked for...

Slowly I point the end of the sheathed rapier towards the tactician, while tilting my head and smiling like a complete idiot. Yeah, they probably think I'm insane from this distance...and somehow I don't actually care right now.

"What are you doing?" Lucina asks, bringing back from my thoughts.

"Just trying to persuade them to come to us," I merely say as I lower the sheathed blade. "Since it will keep them from the others, I'm sure they know that too. And judging from their interactions...I'm guessing that the person in those robes is the tactician."

I sighed as I slowly draw the rapier.

"Somehow it's feels fitting..."

"How so?" The princess asks, actually sounding curious.

Time for some bullshit...just a sprinkle load.

"A tactician against a tactician," I slowly say, properly gripping the rapier. "And a prince against someone of your status, I'm not one to believe in fate. But I must admit that this is rather interesting..."

She says nothing as her hand rests on the hilt of the Falchion. Guess she might be thinking of her goal to change the future...

"Am I wrong?" I ask, "If so then-"

"No...you aren't wrong."

I blinked at her words, didn't really expect that. Then again, she is out of character yet in character at the same time. Which makes no sense at all...

Looking back at the tactician and prince I smirked...

"Get ready," I say, twirling the rapier a little. "They're approaching..."

As soon as I said that, Lucina looked directly at the prince. Not wanting to get in the way, I discreetly moved away from the princess. Hope she doesn't hit me...

The Ylissean prince draws his Falchion, while 'Marth' drew 'his' exact copy...almost at the same time.

Oh for the love...this is going to be like the cutscene isn't it?

"Where did you get that?"

Yep...apparently so...Naga damn it that is cheap!

'Marth' said nothing as 'he' stared at the prince.

"There's no way..." Chrom says, his voiced filled with disbelief. He charges the opponent in front of him.

Lucina blocks his initial strikes before parrying another and thrusting forward. The prince moves to the side before jumping back to avoid an incoming slash.

I take it back, not like the cutscene at all...and I should probably focus on Robin, before I get stabbed by 'accident'.

Reluctantly, I glance away from the fight and look at the tactician in front of me. Who apparently has already drawn a sword...a bronze sword. Like in the game...that's a little interesting...

Also...please be the male version, Lucina does need some joy in her life after all...

"Um...He-"

Robin slashes at me barely giving me enough time to block.

"Whoa, hold on a second!" I manage to say as I struggled against the tactician. "Can't we talk?"

The tactician says nothing as I am pushed back by the sword. I jump back to avoid a slash, then block another one.

At least I'm improving a little bit.

"Really not going to let me talk?" I ask as I try to push Robin back. "Fine..."

The tactician was able to hold me back, then then directs the rapier upward and kicks me in the stomach.

"Shit..." I groaned as I clutch the area that was hit. Can't keep this up for long...plus this hurts almost as bad as when Lucina does it...at least a rib isn't broken...I hope.

I barely dodge another slash, before I thrust the rapier forward. The tactician easily parried it and hits me with the butt end of the bronze blade. Robin was carefully watching as I went down on my knees to keep myself from falling.

SHIT THAT HURTS! DAMMIT GET UP!

Fighting through the pain, I force myself up and bring the rapier in front of me.

Damn...Robin is really strong...can't get hit like that again or I'm done for. Need to think of something...need to buy time for that princess.

I move into a random stance as I reverse gripped the blade. The tactician just stared at me...

"Heh, guess there's no talking to you..." I say, doing my best to ignore the pain. "Name's Leon by the way..."

"Robin."

Huh?

"My name is Robin." A _distinctive_ feminine voice escapes the tactician's lips.

This Robin is female...damn looks like Lucina won't be getting any joy after all. Have to go with plan B...but that's for another time...hopefully Gerome exists...

Dammit, forget about the shipping and focus on the target in front of you! You need to keep her away from Lucina, need to give her as much time as you can so she can properly fight her father.

Screw the logic in this thing and just do it!

"Nice name," I say, still trying to ignore the pain. "It's nice to meet a fellow tactician."

"Your a tactician?" She says, voice filled with disbelief. "That's a little unexpected...I assumed Marth was directing all of you."

"Well technically I'm in training," I add, shrugging a little. "By the way...may I ask how is it that you know Marth?"

"Why would you want to know?" Robin asks as she goes into a defensive stance.

"The way you and that prince were starring at him." I simply say, narrowing my eyes. "Plus you did just mention his name, I'm curious to know what your intentions are with my friend."

Even though I already know the reasons, I have to stay in character. Even if I get my ass kicked for it...damn I real do have a death wish.

"Marth is your friend?" The tactician asks, tilting her head. "That is rather...interesting."

Okay...that's a little strange...but screw it I see an opening! Though I might regret it...it may just work...

"Interesting? What's interesting about that?" I let out a fake grin. "Besides the fact that my friend is possibly involved with the affairs of some highass prince?"

Don't really mean to say that, but I need her to focus on me. Thank god or gods I'm not fighting Frederick, I'd be dead on the spot.

Robin gritted her teeth, "Ignoring the obvious insult, my business is my own."

She quickly glances in the direction Chrom and Lucina were facing each other. Can't really tell what's she thinking, but it's obvious she's a bit worried about Chrom.

"Listen, how about a deal?" I ask, slowly relaxing my stance. "Both of us halt our fight, so we can watch our allies fight. And if Marth loses to your prince then I'll surrender."

Really desperate to ask this, since I know Robin will just kick my ass and I won't be able to harm her. I can't even properly spar with Lucina!

What kind of chance do I have against the future grand master!?

"Why would you offer that?" The tactician asks, glancing back at me. "Isn't Marth your friend?"

"I'll be honest in saying that I'm only here because I wanted to help him." I slowly shake my head. "But I didn't plan for us to be fighting royalty, especially ones that are trying to secure alliances."

"How do you know that?" She asks, voice on edge.

"Tactician in training remember?" I ask as I lower the rapier. "Our jobs are to analyze the battlefield and create an effective strategy. Besides it is rather easy to guess what a country's intentions are when you have knowledge on them."

"And what do you know of Ylisse?" Robin asks, what is she...

It feels like she's stalling...but why?

"I know enough..." I slowly say, glancing at where Chrom and Lucina were at. Amazingly, the prince and princess were still clashing at each other...with the future child avoiding most of the Ylissean's strikes. Wow, it looks like they can go at it all day...

"Besides, I don't want to be responsible for the potential deaths of innocent people."

"I see..."

I look back at the tactician, "So what do you say Robin?"

Cautiously approaching me, the tactician lowers her blade a little.

"Strangely despite the possibilities of backstabbing," She slowly says as she reached for her cowl. "My instincts are saying that your telling the truth."

Okay...that's a little interesting.

"Those must be some instincts, since-"

Robin removes her cowl and I freeze at the sight. She had long white hair that was held in a ponytail, with a pair of vibrant violet eyes.

Whoa...she's...beautiful.

"Since what?" She asks, starring at me.

"Um...I...never mind." I say almost too quickly, desperate to hide the developing blush. Don't stare at her...don't stare at her...look at something else...her bronze sword? Yeah that works...just admiring the craftsmanship, definitely not looking at her eyes. Which are the equivalent of beautiful gems...dammit...

The tactician raised an eyebrow then just shrugs it off. She looks at the battle next to us...

"It seems the fight is about to end."

Huh?

I quickly glance back at the prince and princess, then gritted my teeth.

Chrom was winning against her, Lucina was completely on the defensive. She was forced to block or dodge any attack her father was throwing at her.

Damn...I have to...

I quickly bite my lip and dig my fingernails into my palms to hold myself back. She supposed to lose this fight, that's how it's supposed to be. If she wins then the Ylissean's won't get their alliance and we're screwed. I know that...but it's hard not to help...dammit!

The princess parries another attack before jumping back from the prince. She was breathing heavily as she held the Falchion close, this is the first time I've seen her visibly tired! Damn, she's reaching her limit...

"Tell me..." Chrom starts to say, he was breathing heavily as well. "Who taught you how to fight like that?"

Lucina said nothing as she just gritted her teeth. She quickly goes into a familiar stance...wait...she's going to charge him! She's going to try end this!

The princess sprints towards the prince, the Falchion pointed at it's target. Chrom brought up his Falchion to block the incoming strike, but at last moment...Lucina jumps and slashes downward at the prince.

"My father!" She yells as the identical blades connect.

Chrom grunts as he was pushed back from the blow, but quickly recovered as he pushes his daughter back. The time child landed on her back but was struggling to get up as she used the Falchion for support.

I gritted my teeth as I tightly gripped the raper.

You know what, fuck canon...fuck logic...just fuck all of it! We're going to lose anyway...so we might as well do it on our own terms dammit!

"Sorry Robin," I slowly say as flip the rapier forward. "But I have to help my friend."

Not even waiting for a response, I dashed forward towards the prince. Okay, he's tired and focused on Lucina, avoid his attacks if possible and only attack if needed. I'm a dumbass for doing this, and Lucina might get furious with me, plus Robin may distrust me...and Chrom...screw it.

Have no choice but to play dirty...hopefully that prince will understand.

"Oi, prince!" I yelled as I brought the rapier up.

Chrom, possibly on instinct, looked at me in bewildered look as he brought up the Falchion in time to block my strike.

Okay...NOW!

"Sorry about this," I slowly say as I got ready.

The prince gave me a confused look, right before my foot made contact with his...royal jewels.

"Ack!" Chrom yelled out in pain as he kneels down. Giving me the chance to kick again, this time in the face. The sudden blow caused the prince roll to the side a few feet away.

Holy...shit...I just kick a prince in the nuts...the Chrom fangirls are going to kill me for this...as well as Frederick. Also my foot hurts now, so yeah there's that...

"Chrom!" Robin yells as she comes to the prince's aid.

I look back at Lucina, she was still on her knees using the Falchion for support. She was starring at me, in fury, confusion, I couldn't tell. I'm going to have to explain myself later...crap.

"Can you stand?" I ask as I crouch down in front of her.

She slowly nods as she tries to get up but falls on her knees again. Damn, Chrom really did a number on her...she can't continue...she lost.

"Heh, stubborn as always..." I mutter as I stood up and glanced at the tactician and prince.

Robin was helping Chrom get to his feet, he was using the Falchion for support. Both of them were starring at me, the tactician with anger and the prince in pain and confusion.

"Our fight is over Ylisseans," I slowly say, dropping the rapier on the ground. "We forfeit the match."

Choosing to ignore whatever they were going to say, I place Lucina's arm over my neck and help her up. She didn't resist as we slowly move back to the doors we came out of.

Damn, I just know that what I did is going to bite me in the ass. Any possible chance to join the shepherds is now gone, looks like I have no choice then.

I'm going to stick with Lucina...

* * *

"That was interesting," The man says as he stood up. "Sadly it's over...right when it was getting fun."

Quietly he moved away from the spot he was in and into the corridors of the arena.

'The events proceeded well enough,' He thought as he moved through the empty hallway. 'Enough so that Ylisse has gained their needed alliance.'

He chuckled as he remembered what happened to the prince, as strange as that was...it was rather enjoyable.

'Still as enjoyable as it was, I have to move quickly.'

With the Ylissean's gaining what they want, it is likely they would leave within a day or so. If he wants to get ahead of them, he would have to leave now. Otherwise he'd miss chance to test their talents...

"I should hurry along," He chuckles as he smirked to himself. "After all, the Northern Road can be quite dangerous."

* * *

**A/N: And with that, the Eleventh Chapter comes to a close.**

**I would have brought this out sooner, but I was having trouble balancing out the characters. There were times I made one character too strong, and another were I made Leon too weak. Plus I was trying to make the strategy realistic...not something Leon pulls out of nowhere. As he's nowhere near the level of Robin...or even skilled as Chrom.**

**Anyway, I hope I made this worth the wait...if not then I am sorry to disappoint.**

**So read, review, or whatever...since at this point if your still reading this, then I've done something to keep your attention.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**King Keith:**** Well we'll see who this guy is, hopefully he'll still be interesting.**

**Leon is not unskilled as I make him to be, sure he has no skill in swordplay, but he tries to make that up with intelligence. As knowledge can be a much better weapon than a sword.**

**Though they lost anyway...meh, they had too and they know it.**

**Honestly, I just love doing those three, since Jason is Jason and Midori with her questionable sanity. Along with Anna, the all too familiar merchant trickster...though Jason's Anna is somewhat different than the Shepherd's Anna.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Like the last chapter, there will be some character point of views shifting.**

**Once again, I am sorry if it is confusing. Though there is a reason for this...**

* * *

"Can you please stop laughing?"

"Heheha, sorry it's just too funny..." Midori says as she clutches her sides. "You seriously did that to Chrom?"

"For the last time yes," I say as I rubbed my forehead in annoyance.

Right after the match ended and I helped Lucina sit down in an empty room. Jason, Midori with that guy I don't recognize can straight in and dragged me out.

Leaving the princess alone with the redheaded merchant to check on her state of health. Which is an obvious excuse to keep her from eavesdropping...clever bastards. Though I am worried about Lucina, she was really done in by Chrom.

Sure she's stronger than she looks but still...she was barely responsive when I set her down on a chair. That tight grip she had on the Falchion, I had to gently remove it from her and place it close by. Was going to do the same with the rapier, but I had forgotten that I left it in the arena.

Like a dumbass...great I've probably given her more reason to be mad at me.

"You know it actually explains Frederick's sudden call," Midori says as she slowly settles down. "He shouted 'MILORD' as he looked in your guy's direction. All I was able to see was Chrom on the ground and you standing in front of Lucina."

"Same with Jason and I," The unknown man says, crossing his arms. "I only saw Sir Chrom on the ground..."

Again...who the hell is this guy? Obviously he's an Outer Realmer since Jason and Midori are casual with him. But who is he exactly?

"Still you really have to be brave or stupid to do that." Jason says as he smirks at me. "Anyway introductions are needed, Jon why don't you?"

Wait...did he say...

"Right then," The man says as he looks at me with his dark brown eyes. "My name is Jon Snow, and I am an Outer Realmer...obviously."

"Jon Snow?" I ask raising an eyebrow. "You mean-"

"Yes that Jon Snow of the Night's Watch." Jon mutters as he rolled his eyes. "I heard that enough times from Jason..."

"Because that is literally one of _the_ worst names to go by," The merchant says, shaking his head. "Honestly little brother, it's bad luck."

Little brother?

"Says the one who married the merchant that has _identical_ sisters and cousins." Jon says, glaring at the merchant. "Say, how was the family reunion?"

"Don't even start," Jason groans out. "Gods I hate the thirtieth to fortieth Anna's...they tried to make me kiss them. Fortunately I knew the difference between them and my Anna."

"You gave her hickies the night before didn't you?" Jon asks as he snickers at Jason.

"S-shut up," The merchant says as he visibly blushes. "That's not even...never mind."

"Um...are they always like this?" I ask Midori as I start to ignore the pair.

"Meh, every once and awhile..." She says as she adjusts her glasses. "You'll get used to it..."

Somehow I believe her...still a little surprising and interesting that those two are brothers.

Though I should be getting used to things like this by now...

"Back to the matter at hand," Jon starts to say as he stared back at me. "I didn't get your name...thanks to the courtesy of my brother."

"Oh...my name is Leon...Leon Strife." I slowly say, rubbing the back of my neck. "But just call me Leon..."

"Interesting choice of name..." The swordsman says as he raised an eyebrow. "Meh, would've have been surprised if you used your real one."

Huh?

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's not uncommon for any of us to be using fake names..." Jason starts to explain, "Whether it's in the spur of the moment, or some other thing. Their choice really..."

The merchant chuckles as he rested his head in his hands.

"At least you chose a decent one, unlike my brother and that _other one_."

Other one?

"Moving on from that," Jon says, gaining the attention of the group. "As much as I want to explain what's going on, I can't...not here. If you want some answers to whatever questions you have...come with us to Ylisse."

Us? He means the shepherds doesn't he...

"Um...that might be a problem," I slowly say, embarrassment and shame building up. "I literally kicked away the chance to join the shepherds."

The swordsman chuckles, "I wasn't talking about the shepherds, Sir Frederick will definitely kill you if you step anywhere near Sir Chrom. Or worse...and we can't have that...so we have to do the other thing."

What is he talking about?

"Jason...you know what to do." Jon says as he starts to walk away. "Make sure our little princess stays, we don't want her on her own just yet. Not till the offer is made...see you soon."

Wait...what!?

Before I could think to say something, the swordsman turns a corner and is out of sight.

What just happened?

"Come on Leon," Midori says as she places her hand on my shoulder. "Let's go check on Lucina."

I sighed as I nodded...dammit just what the hell is going on?

* * *

Jon sighed as he turned the corner, he was...actually he didn't know what to be feeling.

Joy of the fact that he's met another one of his own kind, or something close to worry or something else entirely. Still...this small unexpected outcome shouldn't complicate things, in fact it can be used to their advantage.

'But that will be for a later date,' He thought as he sighed once again. 'Plus I'm going to have to brief that kid later, and offer him the choice...'

"Jon? There you are."

The swordsman stops and turned to see that Robin was approaching him. Her cowl was down, revealing her snow colored hair. A often pleasant sight...

"I saw you run off when the match concluded," She said as she narrows her eyes at him. "It may not have been any of my business, but I can't help being curious."

Jon rose an eyebrow, he honestly didn't expect her to follow him. Then again this Robin isn't exactly the same one from the game he once played. He may have just joined the Shepherds, but he was there when they recruited her. She truly was effective in helping them fight the bandits, considering that it wasn't long after she became conscious.

Not many people can do that...

"I figured you'd be by Sir Chrom's side," He finally says as he crossed his arms. "Since he was...caught off guard."

"Yes, well...I did turn him over to Lissa." The tactician says, tilting her head. "She's making sure he's okay..."

"What about you? Any injuries?"

Robin laughs as she rolled her eyes.

"None whatsoever, that 'tactician in training' didn't put up much of a fight." She clicks her tongue, then her face becomes serious. "Still that was a rather interesting turn of events."

"Oh, how so?" Jon asks as he motions her to follow him. "Other than our commander clutching himself in pain."

"The fact that we had encountered Marth once again," She says as she leaned against her palms. "Though Basilio had claimed that he was a mercenary that suddenly showed up, but it's the timing that was a bit...strange."

'Well this is interesting,' The swordsman thought as he rose an eyebrow. 'Wonder how close she is to the truth...'

"It could be all just a coincidence," The tactician continues, as if in a trance. "But somehow...I can't shake this feeling..."

"Still, I could be overthinking it," Robin sighed as she shook her head in visible frustration. "I haven't been sleeping much...barely managed to last night."

"Understandable since you are our tactician," Jon says, doing his best to sound supportive. "But still...you should rest when you can...though I doubt you can today."

"Huh? Why?"

"The man I was fighting happened to be a merchant," He sighs out, "And he told me to tell Sir Chrom of an 'interesting' offer."

"An offer? For what?"

"He only gave me the brief details," The swordsman muttered. "That he's offering a large amount of gold for an escort."

"An escort?" Robin asks, sounding confused. "To where exactly?"

"Ylisse. Specifically the capital. "

The tactician blinked. "That's...interesting."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Jon says as he rubs his forehead. "A random merchant asking a prince for an escort to said prince's home. Though there's something you should know..."

"And that is..."

"Unfortunately...I happen to personally know this merchant." He almost groans out in annoyance. "So you can rule out potential assassination or a kidnapping plot..."

"I take it you don't like this merchant." Robin says as her eyebrows rose in interest.

"That is a little on the personal side, but it's close." The swordsman sighs, "But I can explain that man's potential reasoning."

"With the sudden arrival of the Risen," He starts to explain. "There must be a rise in the amount of mercenaries merchants have been hiring to protect them, as well as the price to hire said mercenaries."

"So he's desperate for a cheap escort?" The tactician asks, placing her hand on her chin. "That's a little much, shouldn't there be mercenaries that fit the price range?"

"That's the tricky part, often times the mercenaries that are cheap are only suited for certain jobs or distances."

"Oh, I see...you mean if it's a simple trip to one village to another. Then they're only equipped for the distance of that trip."

"Yes," Jon nods, "It'd be strange and unprofitable if mercenaries equipped themselves for a long march when they are actually traveling a few days."

"True..." Robin sighed as she comes to a halt. "Though Jon may I ask you something?"

The swordsman nods as he too comes to a stop.

"How much do you trust this merchant acquaintance of your's?" She asks as she narrows her eyes.

"Heh, as much as I voice my 'dislike' for him," Jon smirks as he crossed his arms. "I trust to place my life in his hands, the same as I do with you."

"Well...either he's trustworthy and true to his word," The tactician says as a smile grew upon her lips. "Or your too trusting of others...almost like Chrom."

"I assure you, I'm not _that_ naive."

Robin laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"Alright then, I'll bring this matter to Chrom..."

'Likely Jason will be ready by then,' He thought as he nodded. 'Let's hope he doesn't do anything stupid. If he does then I'll have to improvise...'

* * *

_What a long day...even though it's sometime past noon...or not, can't really tell._

_Midori and I checked in on Lucina and Anna..._

_The princess is fine, which is a relief, she just needs some rest and she'll be back up in no time._

_She's currently sleeping on the chair I left her on. While I'm just sitting on the floor a short distance away._

_Anna had stepped out and Midori left after she gave a one last stare at Lucina. It almost looked like she was mesmerized by the sleeping princess._

_... ... ... ... ..._

_Which is setting off the warning bells in my head that she might be a potential Yandere..._

_If she is...then I'm pretty sure we'll all meet a tragic end...by that I mean we'll all DIE!_

_Oh for the love of god, or Naga, or whatever divine presence that watches this world. Please don't turn this into Higurashi...or Mirai Nikki or any Anime series that involves Yanderes! _

_I don't want** Yuno Gasai** haunting me in the dreams! Not after the last time...and that was by accident!_

_Don't want to get my fingernails ripped out, or nails being hammered through them, or set on fire, or brutally beaten with a stick/bat, or even thrown into a ditch while being hanged with my intestines and then set on fire..._

_...Yeah, really that imaginative...Yanderes kinda scare me...especially Yuno...The **QUEEN** of Yanderes! At least what I think her to be..._

_... ... ... ... ..._

_I have no idea at this point whether or not I'm bored enough to write that entire thing...or legitimately scared of psychopathic Anime girls..._

_...And now I'm probably going to have nightmares for thinking about Yuno...way to go dumbass._

_...Tea, Biscuits, Biscuits...Fuck this Tea!_

I quietly chuckled as I put away the journal. I glance at Lucina, she was still sleeping...almost soundly from what I can tell.

Still find it kinda weird that Anna and Midori had stepped out. They didn't even say a word...just walked past me as soon as they saw the princess. Which is making me suspect that their planning something again.

Really starting to get tired of this...no explanations, mostly cause of the excuse/risk that Lucina might end up listening in. And when they do explain somethings, it's half truths or something with obvious bullshit because the princess is next to us.

At this rate, if they end up actually speaking the truth or inform me on something. I'll probably just think they're lying or trying to trick me...you can only cry wolf so many times before one actually takes your sheep. Dammit...I really need to clear my head, but I don't want to leave Lucina here alone.

It doesn't feel right to do so, as weird as that may sound.

Plus I don't want to risk anything to happen to her if I step out. If I do...what would happen if by chance one of the Shepherds came in and saw her. What if they decide to take a peak under her mask and end up seeing the brand in her left eye?

We'll all be screwed if that happens...

I know I'm being a bit ridiculous, but I really don't want to leave her all alone.

Maybe I should get some sleep as well, if she wakes up then there's a fifty/fifty chance she'll wake me up to figure out what's going on. I just hope I don't really get any nightmares...really don't want to see Yuno anytime soon...

After taking one last glance at Lucina, I push myself against the wall and slowly closed my eyes.

If I do get nightmares...I'm probably going to scream my ass off...again.

Oh, well...

* * *

"Wait, you mean to say your trying to hire Chrom, _the _prince Chrom for an escort?"

"Yes Midori that's what I'm supposed to be doing."

Midori was torn between laughing in excitement or just stare in slightly confused manner. So she simply just adjusted her glasses...

"Well this is going to be interesting," She says as she smirked at the merchant. "So where are we going?"

"Um...why are you assuming I'm taking you along?" Jason asks, sounding bored as usual. "Since I might actually bring my wife instead?"

"Because someone has to check on sleeping beauty," Midori states as she nudges his arm. "And we don't want to involve Leon since Jon hasn't given him the choice yet. So that leaves me, the lovely substitute."

She almost laughed when she saw his eyebrow twitch a little. She has him by the ropes and he knew it.

"Fine, just don't act all psychotic, I think Frederick was traumatized enough."

The scythe user giggled as she remembered the knight, he was so much fun. Though she should've been a little less with the teasing...and some of the flirting.

'He probably thought I was insane when I said that he reminded me of a certain attractive Kuroshitsuji,' She thought, 'I did see a suit under that armor, wonder how he looks in it? As well as him holding eating utensils, and throwing said utensils around?'

"Alright if your coming we have to go now." Jason's voice brings her back to reality. "The place Jon will tell them to meet me is a bit far."

"What is it? A tavern? A storehouse? Or maybe an alleyway?" Midori says as she _tried_ to hold back her eagerness. Since it was obvious that if the prince decided to hear the offer, then Frederick will no doubt be there.

Which means she gets to see him again! Oh, how fun that would be for her!

"A simple tavern, since Jon was feeling a little cliche." The merchant mutters as he crosses his arms. "We're going to have to sit in the back for privacy."

"Um, how would Chrom know where to go anyway?" The scythe user wonders out loud. "Since I doubt he's visited every part of the city..."

"Jon knows the way, as he had 'visited' the western capital before." Jason says, "Likely he's also using the 'I happen to know this guy, and I hate his guts' cliche/excuse. Though hopefully he explains it in a way so that Frederick doesn't suspect him too much."

Midori nodded in understanding, 'Of course Frederick would be suspicious, he doesn't have 'The Wary' part in his name for nothing.'

"Alright let's go," She says as she moves in front of the merchant, motioning him to hurry up. "We don't want to be late."

After an unspecified amount of time, which Midori didn't bother to keep track of, they arrived at the tavern.

"So how are we going to play this out," Jason mutters as he glances around the tavern. "There are a few people here..."

'And we can't forcefully kick them out, cause the owner would get upset.' The scythe user thought as she glances at the people in question.

They were nothing special, just your typical tavern drunks...only that they weren't drunk at the moment. But were getting close...

"I see a good table," The merchant says, gaining her attention. "Not far from the entrance, and offers a perfect view of them coming in. Though it's hard to see if you enter..."

"Which gives some privacy..." Midori finishes, adjusting her glasses. "Plus if I'm leaning against the support that's next it, it gives off a dramatic effect."

"Not what I was thinking but good enough," He says as made his way to bartender. "Excuse me..."

The generic person looked up at the merchant.

"I'm expecting someone to come in, would you be so kind to direct them to the table in the back when they arrive?"

The bartender simply stared at Jason, which made him sigh as he reached into his belt and pull out a small coin purse.

"What does this person look like?" The bartender suddenly asks as soon as the coin purse was set down.

"Blue hair, Blue eyes and will be traveling with a tall blue armored individual. Direct them to the back, don't say anything else and you can keep the change."

The bartender merely nods as he takes the coin purse away.

"By the way," Jason starts to say, "Do you have any board games of Chess?"

About a few hours or hour later, as Midori didn't really keep track, they were sitting at the table playing a game of chess. Mostly just to pass the time...and because Midori felt she had to prove her skills at the game.

"And...checkmate." Jason says as he places the last piece. "I win again..."

Unfortunately, she was having an off day...

"...Damn you..." Midori bitterly says as she sighs in defeat. "I know your cheating somehow...just have to prove it."

"Heh, good luck with that..." He laughs as he began to reset the board. "Anna's the one who cheats at this, though she's tries to be discreet."

'By discreet, he probably means trying to distract him.' She thought, 'Can't blame him though, she is his wife...lucky bastard.'

"How long has it been?" She asks as she stretches her arms. "Cause I'm starting to get a little impatient..."

"Not long, a couple of hours..." Jason says as he rubbed his neck. "Expected this actually, the prince probably informed Robin about this, and it's likely she's reviewing their options."

"Still a little surprised that Robin's a girl..." Midori muttered out, "There goes my Robin X Cherche and Robin X Say'ri pairings..."

"Heh, well your not the only one who's lost the bet." The merchant says as he smirked. "As I did had the Robin and Nowi pairing going."

"Pedophile."

"Hey! She's over a thousand years old! It's the other way around when you look at it."

"_Still a pedophile~_" The scythe user playfully hums as she sadistically smirks at her friend. "_Nya..._what would Anna think?_"_

"Oh, shut it, you know you thought of something like that."

She quietly laughs as she relaxes into the chair, her scythe right next her. These small moments were always so enjoyable...if only two of the others were there with them. Then it would be a completely enjoyable gathering. They probably would get thrown out of the tavern for making too much noise...like last time.

'Too bad those two are in Ylisse...along with _her._' Midori thought as bitter memories of certain individual surface. 'At least _she's_ not here to annoy the crap out of me.'

Jason suddenly looks in the direction behind them and smiles.

"Their here..." He quietly says.

That made her sit straight up and grab her scythe.

"Where?" She quietly asks as she slowly started to get up.

"Entrance, the bartender is starting to approach them."

Quietly and with some speed, Midori was able to pick up her scythe and lean against the support. She gently placed her weapon to the side, close to her yet far enough to show that she means no harm unless provoked.

'Though I doubt they'll try something...' She thought as she got comfortable. 'Either way, this is going to be fun to watch.'

"Ah, Prince Chrom...it's a pleasure to finally meet you." Jason says 'nervously' as he slowly stood up.

The scythe user rolled her eyes as she glanced in the direction he was looking at. It took her all she had not to smile at the sight.

Chrom was standing in front of Jason, quietly observing the merchant and her. She had to admit that the prince did look rather handsome...though he was too heroic and way too dense for her taste. Behind him was the all too predicable great knight...Frederick. Joy ran throughout her entire body as the knight noticed her staring at him. While his facial expression was neutral, but his eyes had the 'Oh gods it's her' look.

Though it was a bit difficult to tell, so she was pretty much guessing.

'Maybe I should do one last tease.' She thought as a sadistic smile started to grow upon her lips. 'After all...what's the harm in a little fun?'

She makes complete eye contact with the knight, before playfully tilting her head and winking at him as she smiled.

Frederick just glared at her, not in a hostile one, it was more of one of annoyance. Plus the slight twitch in his eyebrow helped immensely.

'Still think of him as Sebastian,' She thought as she faked a childlike pout. 'Even with that obvious stick up his...need to take a look there later. Have to confirm it after all...maybe when they leave.'

"Jason, would you get to point where you explain your offer?" The sound of Jon's cold voice brings her back from her thoughts. "Now's not the time for your theatrics."

'Wait, when did he get there?' She thought as she turned her head. 'And that tone of voice...he's taking this seriously.'

Jon Snow, Jason's 'acquaintance' in this scenario, was standing next to Chrom, who was sitting down on the chair. In front of him, the chest board with all of it's pieces in it's normal positions.

'Damn, I was too busy playing with Frederick,' She thought as she mentally kicked herself. 'Because of that, I missed the beginning of their conversation. Also Robin isn't here...that's strange, I kinda expected her to be.'

"Persistent and straight forward as always," Jason clicks his tongue, completely dropping the nervous act. "Alright then Jon, I'll explain my offer...as I am desperate for your help."

'Well since their both here, this is going to take awhile,' Midori thought as she began to settle in. 'At least we're dealing with a nice prince instead of some asshole noble...again.'

* * *

"Hey, wake up."

Huh...

"Come on..."

Something lightly shakes my shoulder.

My eyes slowly open and the first thing I see was Anna crouching right in front on me. She was holding some kind of staff, a rather familiar looking one.

Why is she...oh, she's probably here to check on Lucina or something...

"Anna? Is Luc-"

"_Marth _is fine, but still sleeping." She quickly says as she stood up. "She really was tired...makes me wonder how well she sleeps."

I yawned as I started to get up, how long was I out anyway?

"Where are the others?" I ask as I stretched my arms a little. "And is that a healing staff?"

"Jason and Midori are out on business," She says as she smirked. "They were pretty eager to get going...anyway yes this is a Heal staff. Pulled this one out since both your injuries and Marth's were minor."

Business? What exactly does she mean by that? Meh, I'll ask about that later...

"Minor? I didn't think I was that lucky..."

Now that I've noticed it, for some reason I'm not in pain anymore. Did she...

"Did you heal me in my sleep?" I ask as I place my hand on the spot that Robin had struck. She did hit me pretty hard...

The merchant nodded as she raised the staff a little. The staff did looked like the ones in the game, it actually looks...interesting...wonder how it works.

"So how are you feeling?"

Huh?

"What, I'm fine since you did heal-"

"No, I mean are you alright?" She asks, her face becoming serious. "Since a lot has happened..."

Oh...right...she means that...

"I'm...fine." I slowly say, doing my best not to look away from her. "Just feeling a bit...overwhelmed but I'm fine."

The merchant raised an eyebrow, but then instead of saying something she just nods.

"Okay, if you need someone to talk to...you can do that with me." She says as she goes into her trademark pose.

Now it was my turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Um...forgive me but why are you suddenly offering that?" I ask as I scratched my cheek. "Are you being whimsical with me being your friend?"

Wouldn't be surprised, since she does share the same traits as her sisters. Though she's different from the other one...

"Why? You don't think of me as a friend?" Anna asks, her eyes reflecting hurt.

Have no idea if she's playing me...so I'll be honest.

"I don't mind having you as a friend." I say, giving off a friendly smile.

She quietly laughs as she lowers the staff.

"Well that's good..." She says, smiling at me. "Since I am friends with the others that are like you."

Huh?

"You are?" I ask, sightly surprised by her words.

"Yeah, but you'll have to meet them yourself," She says, winking at me. "Unless you feel like spending some gold to hear hints of them."

Really? She knows that I don't have any to spend...wait am I actually considering that?

"I'll pass on that," I merely wave off. "I'll have to be patient till we arrive in Ylisse."

The merchant merely laughs as she sets down the staff.

"Anyway, I should step out for a little." Anna says as she made her way to the door. "I need some fresh air..."

I ignore her as I glance back at the princess, who was still sleeping.

"Before I go, I should ask you something."

That made me look back, what is this about?

"Have you ever seen Marth without her cape and hood on?" She asks, her voice didn't have a trace of mischief.

"Um, what kind of question is that?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out later," She continues, ignoring my question. "Also have you seen the scarf I helped you make? I assume that since Marth doesn't appear to be wearing it, she probably placed it somewhere."

Um, when did suddenly go into about that scarf?

"Um, no I haven't..." I say as I raised an eyebrow. "Where are you going with this?"

"Nothing, just...you should wake Marth up and take her back to the Inn. She really did have a tough day..."

And with that...Anna simply walks out before I even say anything.

Okay what's with people leaving before I can say something?

I shook my head as I sighed. Great...still she's right, I should take Lucina back to the Inn, it might be more comfortable for her to sleep in a bed than a chair. Which isn't comfortable at all to begin with since the chair she's sleeping in is made of wood.

She's probably going to be sore and stiff from resting on it, I guess I should've set her down on the ground instead. But it's cold and flat...though I'm bothered by that since I've done it before.

Slowly I walked up to the sleeping princess, should I say something or just shake her shoulder? Maybe the latter...or both.

Screw it...either way she'll wake up.

I gently place my hand on her shoulder and give it a light shake. She stirs a little but doesn't appear to wake up.

Is she a heavy sleeper? Or just completely knocked out?

"Hey, wake up..." I slowly say as I shake her shoulder a little more forcefully.

"Mmm..." A small groan escapes the princess as her head moves a little. "W-what happened..."

I stay silent as Lucina shook her head, then slowly turned towards me.

"Good, your awake," I say as I slowly removed my hand. "I was getting a little worried." Obvious bullshit is obvious...

"...What happened?" She asks as she stares at me. Her voice was on the edge of caution.

"You fell unconscious after I took you out of the arena." I explain as I walked back to give her some space. "Anna healed any injuries you had, which were apparently minor."

"Where are we?" The princess asks as she glances around the room. Then appears to relax a little when she noticed that the Falchion was next her. Guess she doesn't want to lose it, since it did once belong to her father.

Poor kid...what I did to her father doesn't help at all.

"We're still in the Colosseum, in some random room I found." I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. "I thought it would be better to place you here, then risk going through a crowd of people and possibly make any injuries you had worse."

That's actually true I didn't want to move through a whole bunch of people. Plus it's gives slightly less of a chance to encounter the shepherds than out there. Frederick probably wants my head...wouldn't blame him one bit.

"Anyway...Anna told me to help take you back to the Inn. Though she while she did heal you, it would easier for you if rested there."

Lucina merely nods as she starts to get up, but then grunts as she grabs her neck.

"You okay?" I asked. Knowing what's wrong anyway.

"I'm...fine." She says, stubbornness evident in her voice.

My eyebrow twitched in slight annoyance. She really wants to play a strong front...why is she doing that?

"No, your obviously still sore and stiff from the battle you had." I say slightly irritated. "Are you going to able to get back to the Inn on your own strength?"

If not then I will have to actually carry her, and she'll probably want to stab me.

"I'll be fine..." She says as she grabs the Falchion and straps it to her side. "Let's...go."

I merely nodded, deciding to not push her. This is going to be a long awkward walk...

Thirty minutes or so later we manage to exit the Colosseum, thankfully we didn't get too lost.

Lucina was walking ahead of me, she was moving in a forced pace. Which isn't good for her, but I know she's trying to keep away from me. As she's definitely upset with me...but isn't bringing it up...or showing it visibly. Which I find rather strange, I half expected her to be a bit hostile with me...

Some form of glare, a vibe of anger, at least something to show how furious she is with me. Maybe she's restraining herself, in order to not show her true connection to Chrom. Maybe she will actually say something when we get back to the Inn, that or she plans on ditching me when everyone falls asleep.

Those are two likely possibilities...damn, I really messed up on this up haven't I? I have to find a way to fix this, or at least make this up to her...otherwise...

I gritted my teeth as I silently cursed to myself. Dammit, I have to at least say _something, _I won't expect her to forgive me...but it isn't right for me to be silent about it.

All right then, when we get to the Inn, I'll talk to her. I'll block to the door to her room if I have too, and if she hits me...well then I completely deserve it.

Again, I really do have a death wish...

* * *

"_Saihate ni aru hakoniwa de...Owari no nai kiseki ga aru to...Shinjiteita.__"_

As Midori calmly finishes the song she notices that a certain knight was listening to her. Which made her sadistically smirk...he was listening to her while she was whispering the song.

"Heh, like my singing?" She asks as she playfully tilted her head.

"No..." Frederick says as he looks back at the conversation. Though she guessed that he was carefully watching her from the corner of his eye.

It had been a few minutes since the offer was explained, by explained...Jason had pretty much asked Chrom to provide protection for him, his wife, and a few others on the way to Ylisse. As potentially expected the prince politely refused, since he was eager to get back home. Which she wouldn't blame him...he really cares for his family.

Then Jason pulled off what he called the 'eyes of a merchant' ability/trick. A weird name for simply sizing the person in front of you, and figure out what to say to get them to stay and listen. Even by using something that may upset said client or those around them.

That's what Anna had said she taught him anyway...

"You see prince Chrom, I have some close friends who are too much like family, rather they_ are_ family." The merchant says, his eyes showing how 'desperate' he was. "Ever since the Risen had shown up...I haven't been able to communicate with them. Almost every messenger bird I sent doesn't return and the ones that do don't carry a message."

"It's making me fear the worst...I know I could be simply worrying to much...but I need to be sure they are safe."

'Clever bastard,' Midori thought as she yawned in boredom. 'Of course he would use Chrom's weakness for family, as low as that is...it really can be effective.'

Chrom was quietly starring at Jason, he appeared shocked and surprised by the merchant His eyes narrowed at the merchant.

"If you were worried about them, why mention it now and not before?" The prince asks.

"There's an unspoken rule among the higher merchants and their so called 'guilds'," Jason says, gritting his teeth. "That when conducting business with nobles or those of royalty...one must never too honest or too blunt in negotiations..."

"Or else they will not agree or do business...as such with '_The Game_'." Jon finishes, bitterly speaking out the last words. "As they take it as a sign of vulnerability..."

"The game?" Chrom asks, obviously confused by those words. "What is-"

"The game is a reference to the political and social interactions between nobles and those of royal blood, Sir." Jon explains, sighing as he rubbed his forehead. "It means that Jason believed that if he made this request out right, then you would have refused despite the rewards or it being the right thing to do."

The prince's eyes widened a little.

'So he's not that familiar with what asshole nobles do?' Midori thought, raising an eyebrow. 'Just how much about politics does he actually know, in terms of experience?'

"Prince Chrom," Jason says, "Please help me with this, I can offer to pay you in appropriate measures if you plan to leave soon. Or in some other way, either way I have to get back, I must see if my friends are safe."

'And with that, it should be predictable for Chrom to accept,' The scythe user thought as she closed her eyes and started to ignore the conversation entirely. 'Now we just have to deal with Lucina, who's probably already trying to leave. Hopefully Anna and Leon will be enough to keep her back...it would be a bit sad for her to leave.'

* * *

"Move..."

"Marth I just-"

"Move..._now_." Lucina says as her hands start to curl into fists. I really am close to setting her off...surprised she's held it off for this long.

Immediately after we entered the Inn, I tried to say something but Lucina had ignored me. So out of actual desperation, I ran ahead of her and stood in front of the door to her room. Needless to say that she's a little upset about it...

"Not till I say my piece," I say, refusing to budge despite the chance of her stabbing me. Which is probably getting higher right now.

Screw it...

"Marth, I'm sorry for what happened at the arena..." I slowly start to say. "I...I really messed up...I wanted to help...but..."

Damn, this is a hell of lot harder than I thought...it always looked so easy in books...

The princess doesn't say anything, she just glares at me. Her fists were sightly raised and shaking a little, she really wants to hit me but she's holding herself back.

Why?

"I don't expect you to forgive me, what I did to the prince it's just unforgivable." I sighed as I glance away from her. "If it makes you feel any better, then hit me. It's easy to tell that you want to do that, I don't blame you...it was someone you care about."

I close my shut and brace myself for the strike. "Do it as hard as you want, but please make it quick."

Silence fills the space between us, I swear I can hear my heart beating loudly through my chest.

One...two...three...four...why is she taking this long? Is she trying to get me to relax before she hits? Or is she going to use the Falchion?

I don't want to look, don't look, don't look...

I flinched when I feel something soft touch my shoulder.

"Leon, just please move...before I do something I'll regret." I hear Lucina say, her voice was low near that of a whisper. It'd caught me by surprise...

Slowly, I open my eyes and looked at her. Her head was low, not looking at me...I can feel her hand shaking on my shoulder.

She's really affected by this, isn't she?

Dammit...

I sighed as I gently removed her hand and step away from the door. She brushes past me, slowly opening the door.

"Marth," I slowly say, not looking at her. "I'm sorry...I just wanted to help..."

She says nothing as she enters the room and closes the door.

I sighed as I walked away, don't feel like going into my room.

Guess I'll just get some cold fresh air from outside...

* * *

"And with that we've made a deal." Jason says as he drinks his glass of clean water.

"I would say cheers but these aren't wine glasses," Midori says as leans back against the chair. "But I don't want to get drunk either...so we'll make do."

It had been thirty minutes since Chrom had left the tavern, as she thought he agreed to the offer. Jason had thank him greatly and nearly bowed to him in thanks. He told the prince for agreeing to help him, that he'd supply the Shepherds with a crate of _Steel _graded weaponry free of charge.

When the prince was surprised and tried to be humble, Jason had insisted upon it. Needless to say after the prince had more or less reluctantly agreed to it, they left in quite a hurry.

'At least I got to see the rear of the Great Knight,' Midori thought as she snickered. 'It was...an admirable sight, I'm actually a little jealous...'

"Um...Midori, your blushing and drooling are starting to bother me." Jason's voice snaps her back into reality.

The scythe user coughs as she tries and fails to discretely wipe said drool from her mouth.

"Great, should I be worried for Frederick?" The merchant asks, obviously teasing her. "Cause I'm sure he wouldn't want his own Tharja stalking him."

"Don't. Compare. Me. To. Her! That. Wannabe. _Yandere!_" Midori furiously says, visible green air started to dance around her hands. "Heh I was just acknowledging one of the Shepherd's...skills. Nothing more..."

"By winking and flirting as well as looking at a certain area I don't want to mention. Yeah I guess that's your way of acknowledging 'skills'."

"..._Teme...__Baka_..."

"And now your cursing in Japanese," The merchant fakes a sigh as he takes a sip from his glass. "Do you even know what those words mean?"

"Of course I do, Suki taught me well enough."

"She's not even Japanese," Jason says as he slowly smirked. "Just because that Otaku chose a name that's Japanese for love or beloved or something like that. Doesn't make her that..."

"Wait till she hears that," Midori says, threateningly pointing her finger at him. "It'll probably make her forget about that _special thing_ you asked for."

"Okay, how do you know about that?" The merchant asks, surprise obvious in his voice. "And you wouldn't dare."

The scythe user patiently clears her throat before grabbing her glass of clean water and stands on the chair she was sitting in.

"Your an ass!" She yells as thrusts the glass upward, spilling it's contents. "Your an ass, where? There, there's the ass!"

"Why are you referencing something I love..." Jason groans as he rubbed his forehead. "Damn...alright, I apologize...for the insult."

"Heh, your forgiven..." Midori smirks as she drops down and quietly sits on the chair. "Suki and I are best friends remember? Of course I know what her projects are."

"Oh but of course, how could I forget?"

"Sarcasm doesn't help," The scythe user states before drinking the last of her water. "Anyway we should get going, Anna is probably growing impatient."

"Yeah..." The merchant says as he too finishes the last of his water.

'Hopefully Lucina is still here,' Midori quickly thought as she reached for her scythe. 'Don't want her to leave just yet, not without saying goodbye.'

"Come on let's get going," She says as she straps her weapon to her back. "Don't want to keep them waiting."

* * *

**A/N: And with that, this chapter is finished. **

**This took forever to do because one thing, the reaction/response of Lucina. At first I just wrote it out what some may have expected, Lucina being angry and hostile. But I ended up turning her into a very angry Severa. Which is not exactly right...so I tried bringing it down a little, and somehow ended up making her too calm about it.**

**So after so many revisions, and some writer's block...the following result happened. Which I had hoped it was decent enough to work with, as I tried to keep Lucina in character, even though as shown before in previous chapters that she isn't exactly herself.**

**...Yeah, so moving on from that...**

**For anyone who figures out on what exact song Midori was singing...all I can say is that was COMPLETELY coincidental. I put it there as a joke, as there is no way that Midori will turn into a Yandere. And the whole entry that Leon wrote, based off a dream/nightmare I had a while back.**

**In where I SOMEHOW accidentally...literally...bumped into Yukki and broke his nose. Needless to say that Yuno was NOT happy with that...she chased me...with a bloody axe. Yeah...that was a fun dream...really should stop watching Anime in the middle of the night.**

**Anyway, ****I know that I've written this down many times, but read, review or look for a much better story than this.**

**Though I would prefer for some more reviews, it'd be nice to know what you guys think of this story. **

**But that is your choice...still thank you for reading, favoriting, and following this. It really means a lot.**

* * *

_**RoseWarden: **_**I didn't think I would have been able to fit them that well. Sure they've been there for a while, but for it to be view like that...it's oddly surprising.**

**Still thanks, been trying to make them interesting and unique in their own way. Such as Midori, I have so much fun writing her...and honestly, she's just having fun with Frederick. Which is tempting fate now that I think about, I guess our silly scythe girl is that brave.**

**The arena fight was a bit difficult to write, had to revise it a few times. Though I know there I bunch of things I could've added, still thanks I worked hard on it. I was honestly torn between making Robin male or female, but I ended up making that decision after review a bunch of ****possibilities.**

**Though there goes my favorite ship...oh well. Also what Leon did to Chrom...yeah...it just happened while writing...somehow it feels worth it. Hopefully we'll get to see Chrom and Leon's interactions after *Coughs* said incident.**

**As for our mysterious '_baddie', _we'll see soon enough...that I am sure of.**

**_King Keith:_ If you don't mind me asking, what did you expect in the outcome of the fight? Leon coming up with a strategy that defeats Robin's? Just curious on that...**

**Meh, Jon and Jason's sibling relationship is simple, they're brothers that mess with each other but deep down they'll watch each other's backs till the end. That much I can say...**

**Like I said before, Midori is having fun with Frederick, though her definition of fun is rather...interesting.**

**Robin's one sided fight with Leon, was actually really fun to do. I'm sure more of those one sided fights are bound to happen with Leon's current skill. My goodness he has a long way to go...hopefully he'll get there...eventually.**

**Um...don't really know how to answer that...let's just say that he didn't expect to see a white haired beauty, with gem like eyes.**

***Coughs* Anyway, I'm sure Lucina will still exist, Chrom will be fine...after some healing and possible revenge. I can't wait for the interactions between Leon and Chrom...that's going to be fun.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Once again there'll be point of view shifts...**

**Still I'm not sure if this will turn into a regular thing, or just for certain chapters. Would be interested to know what you guys think.**

* * *

"Ah!" I screamed as I rose from my bed, clutching my chest tightly. I was breathing heavily, so I tried to calm myself down by lessening the amount of breaths.

"Damn...it...Yuno..." I slowly say as I quickly got out of bed. "Why is it always an axe...and an amusement park...on the _ferris wheel_!?"

As my bare feet landed on the cold wooden floor, the cold air quickly sends shivers down my spine. Making me grab my jacket I placed on a chair close to the bed. Even though I debated whether or not to wear it while I sleep, needless to say that I thought the covers were more than enough to keep me warm.

I breath a sigh of relief as I zipped up the jacket, the warm familiarity of it helped calm me down.

"What time is it anyway?" I muttered as I looked out the window.

The entire sky was dark and cloudless, revealing only the bright moon and stars. Maybe it's close to two or something, can't really tell time at all in this world. Wonder how they even keep time at all...haven't noticed a sun dial or anything like that. Maybe they have a moon dial?

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. Well can't go back to sleep since Yuno was haunting my dreams...again, should I go for a midnight stroll? Even though it's probably not even midnight at all...

Oh screw it...

After stuffing the journal and a mechanical pencil into my jackets pockets, even though they were all ready in my pockets. I quietly step out of my room and made my way out of the Inn. There was no one else out in the halls or entrance, I guess since it's still night.

A few minutes later, I was sitting in front of the entrance of the Inn, writing in the journal. Thankfully the moon was bright enough so I didn't have to strain my eye sight. I wasn't writing note worthy, just lyrics...lyrics to songs I remember listening to a lot back home.

I've done this before, many times...almost to the point where I've almost memorized the lyrics. Which unfortunately, most of the songs were Japanese...watched too much Anime. Not afraid to admit that I tried on a number of occasions to copy down entire songs, both translated and in the original language.

Though I tend to mix some lyrics up...wow I sound too much like a mega fan. Guess I really don't have a life...still...they always felt...comfortable somehow. Like they filling me up with something I was always missing.

I chuckled as I shook my head.

How the hell did it somehow go into music? Of all things...

"Why am I so weird?" I mutter to myself as I stare at the cloudless night sky.

"Because your one of us...which is kinda obvious."

Huh?

I turn to see Midori approaching me, unlike her usual attire, she was wearing something that looked like a kimono like robe. It was black with a dark green floral like pattern...um where did she get that? Also how is she not cold in that, I'm still feeling cold even with the jacket!

"Midori? What are you doing out here?" I ask, still looking at her choice of clothing.

"Heard you scream..." She simply says as she sits down next to me. "It was rather loud, then again I was already awake."

"Doing what exactly?"

"Just my own thing, nothing important..." She says waving it off, "So what made you scream like that? Nightmare or something?"

"Don't want to talk about it," I say a bit too quickly, blushing in embarrassment.

The green eyed woman smirked as she adjusted her glasses.

"So it was a bad dream, eh?" She says, obviously teasing me. "Really not going to tell me about it?"

"No..."

"Oh come on Leon," Midori says as she rests her head in her hands. "It's okay to talk about it, we are from the same home."

"You assume that I'll discuss a potentially traumatizing nightmare, all because we were born in the same lands?"

"Mmm..." She simply nods while adjusting her glasses...again. "So it was that bad...don't worry Leon, you can tell Onee-sama everything."

You have got to be kidding, she really wants to know? Also...Big Sis? She's really trying that...

Ugh fine, she's probably going to pester me about it.

"Fine I'll tell you," I sigh out, putting away the journal. "But can I ask you something first?"

"Shoot."

"How are you able to use magic?" I ask, looking at her seriously. "You said that our 'kind' can bend the 'rules'...what does that mean?"

"Knew you would ask that," She says as she crossed her arms. "I'll be honest, I'm not much of an expert with this stuff. One of our own are, but fortunately _she _is in Ylisstol, you wouldn't like her."

I raise an eyebrow at the last part, okay don't know what that is about. And I probably shouldn't ask...

"Anyway, what I do know is it has something to do with our bodies." She continues, her eyes becoming serious. "Since back home, none of us can use a single scrap mana. Though here..."

"Here what?" I ask, sightly curious that she stopped explaining.

"Tell me what your nightmare was and I'll explain." The green eyed woman says, giving me a mischievous smirk.

Dammit...

"Really? Fine..." I say as I slowly look away from her.

"...IwasbeingchasedbyaYandere..."

"Huh?"

My face heats up, damn it...

"...I...was being chased..." I slowly say, speaking more clearly. "By a...Yandere...and she had an axe...it wasn't fun."

Silence fills the gap between us, making me feel more embarrassed.

"Leon," Midori slowly says as she puts her hand on my shoulder. "That...just sucks, trust me when I say I know from experience."

That made me look at her...the hell does she mean?

"You're not the only one who has dreams of those particular stories," She continues, eyes glancing away from me. "I've had some bad ones as well, ones I don't want to mention."

Damn, the only person that I've known to have weird dreams about Anime was my cousin. And she was a major fan...should I have fun with this? Nah, don't know how she'll react, besides my cousin always ended up 'playfully' hitting me...I miss her...as well as the rest of my family. I've been away from them for this long...are they okay?

"You okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine..." I quickly say trying to wave it off. "Just a little tired..."

The green eyed woman raises an eyebrow before shrugging. I mentally sigh in relief...

"So, what is the reason we can use magic in this wor-"

"Shh," Midori places her hand against my mouth, making me stop.

I was about to move her hand and ask what that was for but she looks directly at me. The sudden seriousness in her eyes made me hold still.

What is she...

Suddenly the scythe user gives out a sadistic like smirk as she looks at something behind us.

"Marth, it's kinda easy to see you since you did just move..." She says in a playful tone. "Come out so you can sit with us, since I'm sure you heard Leon scream as well."

Huh!?

Midori removes her hand, allowing me look in time to see Lucina approaching us. As you might expect, she's in her usual attire still wearing the mask, with the Falchion strapped to her side. Okay...I'm a little slow since I'm still kinda sleepy but was she there the whole time?

"H-hey Marth," I nervously say, scooting away from Midori. The princess silently stares at me then glances at Midori then back at me. Obviously it appeared that she didn't want to sit down.

"Glad I'm not only one worried about our little baka," The green eyed woman says as she tilts her head. "So how long have you been listening?"

Lucina says nothing as she just stares at her.

"Let me guess, you were just checking on Leon, then decided to listen in when I was talking about my magic." Midori says as she narrows her eyes.

The future child's hands twitched a little, as she gritted her teeth. Recognize that look...she's a bit annoyed or mad that she's been found out.

"Thought so, you know if your that curious...you can just ask."

Why do I get the feeling that she's just playing Lucina...again? Actually...at this point I really shouldn't be surprised.

"Though right now you can't answer questions she has, not yet anyway." Jason's voice catches everyone's attention and stares.

Jason was in his usual coat with his English style longsword strapped to his side. Under his coat was some kind of dark leather armor, similar to the one Jon was wearing...okay now I'm wondering why he's wearing it. Also why is he holding a pair of dark leather boots, as well as that knapsack we got the other day?

The hell is he planning this time?

"And now since the asshole is here, I can't say anything." Midori bitterly says as she looks at Lucina. "Sorry Marth, but I have little choice but to listen."

"If it's any consolation, you can ask again if your ever in Ylisse." Jason says as he approaches us. "There I guarantee you get some answers, it's also the same thing with you Leon."

Huh?

"Yeah since the tournament is over," The merchant says as he hands me the knapsack. "Somehow I doubt you two would stick around, so out of the kindness heart I helped you pack."

Out the kindness of his heart my ass...they're messing with us...again! How many times are they going to do this?

"By pack, you mean put whatever you put into this knapsack." I state as I looked at the pack. "Also I don't think neither of us were going to leave just yet..."

Lucina looked away when I said that, giving off the possibility that she was planning on ditching me. Wouldn't be surprised...

"That may be, but as I said before, I doubt you'd stick around after everything." Jason says as he hands me the leather boots. "Also here these are for you."

"Huh? Leather boots? Why?" I ask as I grabbed hold of them. They felt surprisingly nice, hard yet soft, are these well made or something?

"Think of them as an investment," He says as he crossed his arms. "After all I am a merchant."

"Part of me believes you," I slowly say. "But you want something don't you?"

"Heh, let's just say with any investment...there's has to be some collateral." The merchant says as he points at my shoes. "I'd like to take those shoes, if you don't agree then I'll simply take the boots back."

He planned this out well didn't he?

"Fine take them," I merely say as set the knapsack and boots down. "I could use some better foot wear."

"Good choice..." He says as I took off my shoes and put the boots on. They're really comfortable and fit well...plus their black which is an added bonus.

"Ahem, ignoring Leon's shoe removal," Midori begins to say, "Marth were you planning on leaving in the morning?"

Lucina says nothing as she just stares at the scythe user, finally she sighs.

"...Yes." She says in a low voice. Great, she was going to ditch me...not surprising sine I am a complete fuck up.

The green eyed woman glared at the future child before sighing and crossing her arms.

"Marth, I like to ask you a favor." She says as her eyes became serious. "Actually it's more of a promise, a very important one at that."

"What is it?" The princess asks, sounding curious.

"Promise me-no promise all those of my kind that you'll take care of Leon."

What!?

"We may not know him that much, but he is one of our kind and we take care of our own." She continues as she got on her feet. "So I'm asking you Marth, keep Leon safe as I believe he's going to follow you around like a sad puppy."

Again...what!? Is...is she trying to persuade Lucina to keep me around? Why?

"So what do you say Marth?" Midori asks as she held her hand out. "Can I trust you on this?"

Lucina had her head tilted in confusion, like me she probably did not expect this. I discreetly looked at Jason, the merchant smirking at the whole thing. Guess he's involved in this as well...why are they doing this?

How is me sticking with Lucina any use to them, sure I did tell Jason that I planned to do that. But it can't be because of that, right?

"Marth? Is something wrong?" Midori's voice brings me back to reality making me look back.

The future child was starring at me, like she was trying to think of what to do. She really didn't expect this, and it seems she's unsure of what to do.

"Aren't the two of you friends?"

That made her look back at the scythe user. Right, I did call her my friend a while ago...I was trying to cheer her up a little. Finally managed to get her to actually say my name, at least the name I gave her.

Finally, after a minute of silence Lucina reluctantly takes hold of Midori's hand and lightly shakes it.

"...Yes, I promise Midori...Aschente."

Wait, did she just...she...promised...

"Well that's good," The green eyed woman said as she raised an eyebrow. "Also I think I misheard you, did you just say _Aschente!_?"

"Um...yes?" The princess says, sounding confused.

Damn, have to step in...

"I kinda taught her that..." I say a bit too quickly, rubbing the back of my neck. "Um...since our kind...whenever we make a promise...we tend to shake our hands and say that."

Please figure out what I mean, can't have her suspicious of us anymore than she might be.

"Oh, of course it would be you that taught her." Jason says sarcastically, chuckling a little. "How else would she know a something from our homeland?"

Funny he should say that...should I have told them that she somehow knows the Grand Fonic Hymn? Since this Lucina is not exactly herself...I guess I'll have to tell them when I get the chance, but that may be awhile.

"Well it seems Leon is a traditionalist..." Midori says as she starts to giggle. "Never thought I see that here..."

"Um...I'm not...a traditionalist..." I mutter out, kinda taking it far aren't they? "I just remember our legends and history."

"_Right_~" The scythe user playfully hums. "Of course you'd say that, _Nya~"_

And now she's just teasing me...at least both of them picked up on it.

"Moving on, Marth, Leon if both of you plan on leaving." The merchant starts to say. "I'd recommended leaving now, it may be the middle of the night but you'll face a lot less crowds than in the morning."

Hence the knapsack and the boots, proof enough that they planned this...clever bastards.

"What do you say Marth?" I asked as I strapped on the knapsack. "Should we wait or go now?"

Lucina only stared at me before nodding, she stepped away from the entrance of the Inn and turned to look back. Guess she wants to go, alright could use something to forget about Yuno. Even if it's a long walk...

"Well then, we're off." I say as looked at Midori and Jason. "Thanks...and I guess I'll see you guys around."

"Don't worry Leon," The scythe user says as she playfully tilted her head. "I'm sure we'll see each other real soon."

I merely rolled my eyes as I said goodbye then walked up to Lucina. So she chose to keep me around, don't know why but I guess I should happy about that. Definitely gonna do my best to make it up to her...

"Ready to go?" I ask as I crossed my arms. Didn't need to ask but screw it...

The princess simply nods before I follow after her into the sleeping capital.

* * *

"Why did I agree to this?" Jason asks as he watched the pair leave.

"Because...we both know she would of left anyway with or without our little baka," The battlemage answers as she adjusted her glasses. "So why not with him?"

He knew that she was right, the future child would've left soon or later...likely without the kid. So Midori had devised a plan to wake both of them up in the middle of the night and send them off together. The battlemage was in the middle of waking up Lucina, though for some reason she was taking a bit long, when Leon had screamed...

Somehow it still was able to work out.

"I understand that but that still doesn't answer my question." The merchant says as his hand rested on the hilt of his blade. "It would've have been better if we-"

"Do you honestly think we would've convinced her to travel with us?" The scythe user asks as she crossed her arms. "I think we would've had a better chance if it was Yarne."

"Have no idea what you mean by that, but good point." Jason sighs out. "Damn, Jon might get mad at us."

"When has he not Jace?"

"Stop using that nickname."

Midori giggles as she leaned against her palms. "Still, he'll understand when we explain that we couldn't come up with a way to keep her around."

That was true and Jason knew that, had there been alternative then they would've done it. But instead they did the '_next best thing_', by having an inexperienced child travel with the princess. Who is charged with the mission to save her father, and kill a giant evil dragon.

What could go wrong...

'I still don't know how the hell she managed to convince me to agree to this.' He thought as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's true that it might've been safer for him to stick with us," Midori says, looking up at the night sky. "But he would've been seen by the Shepherds, though I doubt Chrom would do anything...much. Same can't be said for the other shepherds. Especially Frederick."

"No telling how they would react." He muttered. "Since they are loyal to that prince...hate to admit that your right."

"Wow, it almost sounds like your actually agreeing with me."

"...Really?"

The battlemage giggles as she covers her mouth.

"I still question your sanity," The merchant mutters as he stared blankly at her. "Still, not really sure if sending him with the future child was a good idea."

"Don't worry, Lucina was acting like a Kuudere mixed with a bit of Tsun." Midori starts to say. "Having Leon around might just loosen off her displayed shell a bit, though I would've preferred if it was me."

Jason just sighed as the scythe started giggling to herself again. It was obvious that she was enjoying herself, which often turns to an annoyance towards to him. Though he wouldn't outright admit that he's grown too used to it.

'And she has her eyes on Frederick, gods protect that poor bastard.' He thought as he mentally shivered. 'When she has her eyes on something, she tends to not let it go...not without a fight.'

"Ah crap!"

The merchant flinched as he stared at Midori in shock. "W-what's wrong!?"

"I forgot to say _Ja Ne_ to Leon and Lucina!" She says as shakes her head. "I'm such an idiot, it was the perfect moment!"

'That's what she's upset about? Dammit, she's finally lost it.'

"You can say it to them another time, not like this is the last time we'll see them."

"I know but still it was so perfect..."

"...Let's just get ready, go put on your armor while I go wake Anna."

"Kinda a dick-ish move for not letting her saying goodbye."

"Shut up...I have my reasons."

"It's about the boots isn't it? Weren't supposed to take them without _permission?_" Midori playfully hums the last part as she tilted her head.

"...Damn you..."

"Hah, knew you were the _submissive one_, good for Anna..."

"Shut up!"

* * *

"Dammit."

The man groaned in annoyance as he rested on his knees. He was nearly exhausted from the speed he had trouble, same could be said for the mount he rode upon. But he worry too much for it, it endurable to anything it experiences. Much to his benefit...

As soon as the tournament had ended, he rushed out of the capital and headed south along the Northern road. He was able to pass through the infamous grand Feroxian wall without much notice. It would have been pointless to try to sneak past it, as that would've taken too long.

'It had taken me a day and a half to reach this spot.' He thought as he breathed out a sigh. 'Normally it would take three by standard means, or four if your a small force...or a militia. But since that prince may be eager to get back...'

The man quietly chuckled as he surveyed the area around him.

"Four empty outposts that overlook an empty bridge, the only way to get to Ylisse without having to cross the river or go through the surrounding forests and mountains." He listed off out loud as he glanced around a bit more. "The shepherds will likely cross through here, since they cleared it out of Risen first time they came around."

'Foolish for the Ylissean's to leave these outposts unoccupied,' He thought as he stared at said structures. 'Since the Risen have finally shown themselves, it would have been wise to secure these posts to help provide some security and warning to nearby villages.'

'Sadly their military is not as large as it was, thanks to the previous Exalt's_ Crusade,_' The man bitterly thought as he remembered a particular memory. 'Still...the area near the bridge is open...close to that is a forest.'

'Not much to work with, and no place close enough to see that also offers good cover.' He quietly stood up and glance back at the bridge. 'I can't sabotage the bridge before they arrive, they'll end up looking for another route.'

"That will take them a week or two to find, I don't want to slow their progress that much." He says as leaned against his palm. "Still, I have three to four days to layout a plan and execute it. Something that their tactician would not expect."

'And it has to be something fitting, something meant for these..._Shepherds._' The man chuckled as the idea began to form in his head. 'Yes that's it...'

"Have little time, I should go and invite the other...guests." He says as began to walk in the small nearby mountain. The spot he's willing to bet that he'll find the way to invite the perfect guests for the occasion.

'After I'm done there, I should check out the outposts. Then...hopefully, these shepherds prove their strong enough to defend their sheep from the wolves that linger in the fields.'

* * *

_It's been about three and a half days since we left Regna Ferox, nothing has happened as weird as that might be. We were able to get through the border, by border I mean the huge wall that potentially rivals the Great Wall of China. Seriously how far does that thing go? The entire length of Regna Ferox?_

_How the hell were Feroxians able to build it? The amount of manpower and resources it must've taken to actually do it...it's impressive. Also the amount of time it might've taken, wow as I said before...impressive. I wonder how much those walls can take if their ever under siege. _

_If it was built before the idea of what this world considers 'modern' siege equipment, then they might be in a bit of trouble. Now it's making me wonder the types of Trebuchets, Catapults, and Basllista this world uses. It might be different depending on the country but they must have some similarities._

_Still, can't help but think of that huge wall and be awed by it. I've never seen anything like it before back home, and I'm not talking about looking at things like that in documentaries. I'm talking about actually being there physically and being able to touch it. Preferably when the guards aren't looking..._

_Yes I did actually touch the wall, couldn't resist...and Lucina was starring at me. I easily guessed that she was a bit confused on why I did that. So I 'explained' that back home we don't use giant walls to protect our cities and I never seen anything like it before. It was easy to say since it was the truth..._

_She didn't say anything, and we moved on without delay. As soon as we got past the wall, we moved away from the road to the nearby forest. Then we spent some time going through a small mountain, didn't take too long, then straight back into a forest. While I kinda guessed why, I asked anyway to try stay in character. _

_The princess didn't say anything at first, but after a little while she sighed and told me that any bandits in the area are less likely to attack us in a forest or mountain than on the road. __Not a bad explanation/excuse, I would have believed her if I didn't know any better. _

_Since it was kinda obvious that we're traveling down south, towards Ylisse. How did I figured that out? Well back at the all impressive wall, I recognized one of the people guarding it. _

_Raimi, the knight that was kinda a bitch, at least that's what I call her anyway. Since she was a little bit like that when you encounter her in that one chapter. Anyway...I saw her shouting some orders at some of the other guards. As soon as I saw I almost froze in my tracks, mostly because of her armor._

_While it did look like how it was from the game. Actually seeing it was a bit __intimidating, that armor covers most of her body, and it looks pretty damn heavy. Plus with that part of the armor that curves around the shoulders and covers the neck? How heavy is that? _

_I'm no expert on medieval armor, but she has got to be tough in order to wear that. I'd probably be crushed if I try to wear something like that. If I ever meet Kjelle, I may try to be brave enough to ask her about that._

And I should probably stop writing, since I used up about three pages. Should save it for some other thing...maybe actual tactical ideas.

I yawned as I put away the journal, as I was writing in the journal. The very fact that I saw Raimi, gives off the possibility that we're following Chrom. At least plan to follow him, that or something like that. Though it is possible that Raimi changed posts or something, but that's kinda unlikely.

If she did, then Robin must have scared the crap out of her. If she was anything like she was in the arena, then that must have been some fight.

Wonder how she's doing...and now I'm thinking about her gem like eyes...again. Dammit...

"Time to move..." Lucina's voice snaps me back to reality.

"R-right." I say as I got up and adjusted the knapsack.

As much of an asshole Jason was, I have to give him credit for the knapsack and the boots. The boots are much more comfortable compared to the shoes I was wearing, though I'm questioning on how did he figure out what my size was.

Inside the knapsack was a bunch of fruit and packaged dried meat, which tastes like bitter jerky. As well as some rolls of cloth, and a couple of bottles. That looked like the ones that Anna used that were a Vulnerary. Obviously meant for treating injures.

A few water skins, and surprisingly...toothpaste. Well not exactly toothpaste, it's some sort of paste that you use with a thin brush to clean your teeth. Jason had had packed a couple with some tube like containers, he had a note written in English on how to use it.

Lucina seemed to be familiar with it, she merely nodded when I had explained the tubes held something meant for cleaning teeth. So it seems there's something from home I can use here, which I'm thankful for, at least my teeth won't rot away.

There was also a small knife, which I immediately gave to Lucina when I first pulled it out. Mostly because of the agreement we had about me not carrying a weapon. The knife had a simple handle and was about five to six inches in length.

It was rather easy to hold, but I guess that's how knives are supposed to be. Not much knowledge on the actual use of weapons, hence my shitty skill with the rapier. And I lost that weapon...another reason in the list for why Lucina should be upset with me.

Anyway, the knife is currently strapped to the princess's belt. An interesting addition to her arsenal, since it's actually easier for her to skin the animals she hunted. Prior to that she'd been using the Falchion, and I have to admit that was a strange sight. It looked kinda awkward from the angle she holding it at, but I guess she got used to it.

Now currently wondering what she doesn't use the blade for.

I yawn again as we walked through the forest...

Lucina...she's silent, more than usual. I mean she does talk, but only when she decides to stop for the night, or giving me a task of removing traps or taking the dead animals out of them. Anything else...she's completely distant...it's...just miserable.

I keep thinking about trying to say something, but I can't...I just keep thinking then finally give up after becoming frustrated. Dammit...

Why...why did she make that promise to Midori? If she's truly angry with me then she wouldn't have, but I can't rap my head around that. I really doubt she just did that so she can murder me later, it's been too long and there's more than enough spots for a rotting corpse.

It doesn't make any sense...I want to ask her so badly, it's practically gnawing at me. I can't, not without potentially giving myself away...

...Is this how she feels? Trying to help or save someone, without telling them who you are...because your afraid? Afraid...of what? Rejection, hatred, regret, or being seen as nothing more than a tool? Only to be cast away as your usefulness is at it's end? Is that why in the game she just leaves if she's isn't paired up with anyone?

She just says goodbye to her past self because of the fear inside her? Fear of being a burden or rejected by the family she loves? Poor kid...it isn't right...it isn't right since I'm actually in this world. A world I had once believed was nothing but mere fiction...but now...

"It's real enough to me."

"...Leon? Did you say something?"

Huh?

"Oh, it's nothing." I quickly say trying to wave it off. "Just thinking to myself..."

The princess merely stares at me, then after a few silent moments she continues to move on. I mentally sighed in relief as I followed after her.

Still whatever the reason, I should just do what I can to help her...I owe her that much.

* * *

"What the hell is that smell!?" I nearly yell as I covered my nose in a fatal attempt to protect it.

It's been a couple of hours, we were quietly walking though the forest when we were hit by some completely horrible smell. I know the Risen smells were terrible but this so much worse...

Lucina said nothing but she had her hand covering nose as well. Must be bad for her...

"Any idea where's it coming from?"

"...I don't know." She says, sounding a little irritated.

"Think it's Risen?" I ask, looking around the area.

"Possibly," The princess says as her hand rested on the hilt of her blade. "Be on your guard and keep close."

"Right..." I merely said as I followed her.

This may be weird to say, but something doesn't feel right at all. While terrible smells in the past had signaled the approach of Risen. The smell that was currently tormenting our noses, it feels more concentrated somehow. I can't explain it, but something about this is making me feel dreadful.

I could be just over reacting but still...something is definitely wrong.

After some time we come across a large river, the current was moving rapidly I'm guessing it might be deep. I seriously hope we don't have to cross it...

"No good..." Lucina shakes her head, sounding a bit frustrated. "It's gone..."

Huh? Wait...

"What are you talking about?" I ask as I stare at the princess. "Were you looking for something?"

Lucina says nothing at first as she stared back at me. Finally after a minute of silence she sighed.

"...There was a large tree," She starts to explain. "It had naturally fallen onto to the river, creating a bridge, but it's gone. The current must have moved it."

Okay, was kinda expecting something else, don't ask what. Naturally fallen? Why am I not believing that?

"If the current had moved it, then should we check down stream?" I ask, looking in the direction the current was flowing. "There might be a chance it could've snagged onto something."

The princess says nothing then sighs as she motioned me to follow.

It took a quick five minutes or so before we actually found Lucina's 'naturally fallen' tree. Turns out it somehow got stuck between two large rocks, it was bent in a odd angle but still allows for the use of a bridge. Weirdly convenient but screw it, saves a trip of walking through the water.

"Think it's stable?" I ask as we stop in front of it.

The future child says nothing as she walks forward and places her foot on the trunk. Nothing happens, she takes another cautious step. The tree seemed to hold her weight pretty fine, so there's that answer.

"Wait here until I finish crossing," She instructs before she took a few more careful steps.

I say nothing as I watched her slowly cross the fallen tree.

She better not push the thing when she gets to the other side. Or leverage it with the Falchion, as that's a possible way of ditching me. Though I actually doubt she'll try that.

When Lucina finally crossed the tree bridge, she turned and nodded her head. Guess I can go now...

Slowly I step on to the tree, then at a snail like pace I walk through it. Don't want to accidentally fall into the cold water and drown now, do I? Finally I cross the damn thing without incident. Rather anticlimactic...at least it didn't start to come apart like in some action movie.

"Let's move..." The princess says as she moved into the forest.

I didn't say anything as I took one last look at the tree. She said it had naturally fallen? Somehow I call bullshit, why? Well mostly because I finally noticed a piece of rope tied to one of the branches.

It's possible Lucina was, somehow, able to cut down the tree and make into a bridge. But why? Did she want a route hidden for herself or something? Since both of us are traveling south, we might be close to that one bridge in the game.

The one where a bunch of the Shepherds are introduced...and since they're heading back to Ylisse.

I merely chuckled as I turned and ran off in the direction Lucina had gone.

What clever girl...

* * *

"With that last one, it should be enough." The man says as he quietly puts away his knife. "Strong enough to put up a decent fight..."

The area was layered with the familiar scent of blood, he merely smirked at it. It was a scent he hasn't rejected nor welcomed.

'Didn't think I'd find this particular breed so easily.' He thought as he massaged his hand. 'A shame to do this, but it is a necessary evil if I want to test the Shepherds.'

The scent of the animal corpses he left scattered in the area, along with some of his blood had already attracted any Risen nearby, but that's not what he's after. No, it was something much easier, something he would enjoy.

'I should finish this,' He thought as he brought his hands together. 'The Shepherds will cross the bridge soon, they'll be distracted by the Risen. When that happens, the time will come to throw them...to the wolves.'

Slowly the air around the man began to grow...unnatural.

Dark purple sparks emit from the man's hands as he started to separate them.

Soon the surrounding area resonated with the crackling of sparks.

* * *

**A/N: Short chapter I know but I decided to end here, mostly because I wanted to make this two part...thing. If it was a full chapter, it would've been close to twenty thousand words...not kidding.**

**Tempted to do that, but that would've taken pretty long to do. **

**Anyway, what do you guys think on Lucina's choice? It was really hard to do that, had to rewrite it a bunch of times, I hope in the end it was believable...**

**As I said dozen of times before, read, review, or...something of much better quality than this fic.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

_**King Keith: **_**When compared to Robin, Leon sucks in terms of tactics. At least in my opinion that is, and also the fact that I happen to like Robin a lot.**

**It will take time for Lucina to forgive Leon...that much is true. But for me, it's not that she doesn't like to talk...it's something a bit different. I would say it, but don't want to inadvertently spoil something. **

**But yes, in this case...action might speak louder than words for Leon...but that will hopefully come soon.**

**Also, in my opinion, the only Shepherd that Leon should fear...is Frederick. For obvious reasons...plus if his fanatical fitness hour is like torture...which to him is just simple exercise. Then I don't want to know what he does to someone he actually wants to torment. **

**I'll leave you to think on that...**


	14. Chapter 14

**Like last time, this chapter will have some shifts in views,**** said shift in views may be a bit confusing, I apologize for that...and I should also warn you that somethings may be a bit graphic...ish.**

**Also important message in the A/N.**

* * *

"Behind you!"

Without even hesitating Jon turns and faces another Risen. The undead creature growls before he simply stabs it in the head.

"You doing alright Midori?" He asks as the Risen dissipated.

"I'm fine," The scythe user says as she twirled her weapon. She was currently wearing a mixture of leather and steel armor. Her upper body was covered in leather, while her arms and legs had steel gauntlets and boots.

While Jon had asked her to at least try to wear a helmet, Midori had refused. Saying it wasn't the 'look' of a battlemage, by that he knew that she meant her glasses. She couldn't see without them after all...

"This part is clear," The battlemage stated the obvious as she made her way to him. "Remind me why Robin sent us ahead?"

"Robin sent us to make sure a this area was clear," Jon says as he pointed in another direction. "We should be close to the outpost. The tactician should be done on her end."

'Of course she would be,' He thought. 'Last time we were here, she made us clear the area around the outposts. Then requested that we used them for the night, likely we're doing it again.'

"If she's not then we should help them," Midori says as she adjusted her glasses. "Come on."

The swordsman merely smirked as he followed after her. He knew by them, she likely means a certain great knight.

Prior to engaging the Risen, Robin had decided to take a group of six including herself past the bridge and to one of the outposts. She split the group up into teams of two. The teams were comprised of himself with Midori, Frederick and Chrom with Lon'qu and Robin herself.

He would admit that he was rather hesitant about Midori being in the group. Mostly because he had heard what she did to the great knight, needless to say that he'll have a 'private discussion' with her later on. They already have one of their kind in danger because of their actions, another was not needed.

'She always acts childish, same with Suki,' He thought, 'At least Suki is _sightly _more mature...though that role she does...have to get her 'recruited' into the Shepherds later. Along with-'

"**_Awooo!_**"

Both the scythe user and swordsmen stopped in their tracks. That was an all too familiar howl...

"Wolves..." Jon says as he gripped the handle of his blade. "What are wolves doing out here with Risen about?"

"I don't know," Midori murmurs, slowly glancing around. "Didn't you say that animals both prey and predator stay away from Risen? Even if they wandered into their territory?"

That was true, he along with the shepherds had encountered Risen a number of times. More than that damn game had shown, each time they killed the last Risen, the local wildlife would start to return. A process Jon doesn't really understand but waved it off as something to do with the Risen being unnatural beings. And possibly the smell...

Still, if wolves are still lingering about even with the Risen...

"We might face another problem," He muttered out loud, gritting his teeth. "We have to get to Sir Chrom before anything else does."

"Right," The battlemage nodded, understanding what he meant by that. "They should be a short-"

"_**Awooo!**_"

"Ahh!"

The wolf was heard once again, though it's howl sounded much louder, it was followed by a distinctive scream.

"Shit, that sounded like Frederick!" Midori cursed as she started to sprint.

Jon said nothing as he sprinted after her.

'Dammit, fighting Risen on their own is difficult,' He thought as he increased his speed. 'But fighting Risen with _Wolves _nearby? Now that's just a hell of lot more troubling.'

He remembered the last time he had to fight off wolves along with...their pack leader. Even with the companions he was with, it was a long and difficult fight. As certain breeds of wolves in this world seemed to be more intelligent than the normal one's of the old one.

Not too intelligent, but enough to know how to fight humans. Another thing he will not truly understand...

After a few minutes of sprinting the two came to see a grizzling sight.

Chrom was on the ground unconscious, while Lon'qu and Robin, weapons drawn, were facing off against a wolf. Only that this wolf was larger than a horse...and it was currently feeding on an actual horse. A dread feeling filled the swordsman as he realized that it was the horse that belonged to Frederick.

The wolf was chewing and consuming the flesh off of it, the armor was crushed and ripped apart.

'It didn't stand a chance,' Jon thought as he found himself searching for the great knight, only to be filled with more dread as he couldn't see him anywhere.

'He's alive,' He assures himself, as he tightened the grip on his blade. 'He's alive and somewhere...we'll find him...but for now we'll deal with this thing.'

"You...fucking son of a bitch!" The scythe user screamed as she casted a large blade of wind.

The large wolf violently flinched when the spell made contact. A growl of pain escaped from it, as it slowly turned to face it's attacker...

'What the hell?' Jon thought as he took a better look. 'No...'

The large wolf fur was black, but it somehow looked rotten in several places. Parts of it's flesh and fur were missing, but it wasn't from the damage of Midori's spell. It's eyes were a familiar set of dark purple, the same color as that of a Risen...

"No...no..." He muttered out loud to himself as he stared at the beast. "How can it be like a Risen!?"

The large Risen like wolf started to crouch and bear it's dagger like fangs. The swordsman instinctively brought his weapon forward, he had the feeling it was going to charge.

"..._**AWOOO!**_" The wolf howled as it rose it's head up towards the sky. The mere sound of it forced everyone to cover their ears in pain.

When the howling stopped the wolf lowered it's head and stared at everyone. The familiar look of intelligence reflected within it's eyes. It crouched once again before suddenly sprinting off into the forest. Leaving everyone completely bewilderment...

"You're not getting away that easy!" Midori yelled as she was about to run, but was stopped when Jon grabbed her arm.

"Jon...get out...of my way." The scythe user harshly whispered, green air surrounding her hands. "I'm going to _RIP_ that thing's head off."

'Never seen her this angry before,' The swordsman noted as he moved to diffuse the situation. 'Not good, have to be careful...'

"I know what your feeling Midori," Jon whispered as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "But going out alone and getting yourself killed is not going to help anyone. Especially Frederick..."

She gritted her teeth before sighing as the air began to dissipate.

"Good," He slowly pulled away, then motioned Robin to come closer.

"Robin, what happened?"

"We...we were clearing out a few Risen," The tactician started to say, appearing to do her best to keep calm. "When we heard howling, then that _thing_ came out of no where. It tramped and killed Frederick's horse then threw Frederick somewhere in the tree line. Before kicking Chrom when he tried to slash at it...and I just watched..."

"It's alright," Jon gently says, making her stop. "I'm sure Sir Frederick is alive...he's a tough one..."

"Gods...what are we dealing with?" He heard her whisper, her face turned grim...an expression he hadn't seen on her before.

"Midori, tend to Chrom." The swordsman whispered to the battlemage. "We'll find Frederick after we make sure the prince is alright."

The scythe user quietly nodded as she turned and move to Ylissean prince's position. He sighed as he watched the tactician move to Frederick's horse, the sense of dread was still present.

"Her throat was just ripped apart," He heard her say as he approached her. "The armor was like nothing to it, the amount of force it must have took...gods...she was still alive when it..."

She sighed as she looked at him, "Sorry, I'm still...shocked...by...the way that thing's eyes felt when they looked at us...it felt familiar yet wrong."

'Familiar yet wrong? Could she be referring to...' He thought before mentally shrugged it off. Now wasn't the time to think about for her...origin. "It felt unnatural with me, still this isn't good."

"Chrom is unconscious and his loyal knight is missing." Robin slowly says as she gritted her teeth. "No it isn't, we should hurry and find Frederick."

Jon merely nodded before turning and moving to the unconscious prince.

'This is going to be one of those days, isn't it?' He thought as he gave out a tired sigh. 'Well...shit.'

* * *

"Dammit," The man cursed as his hands were covered in a dark purple light. "What the hell was it eating?"

After bringing out his guest, he decided to make use of a nearby cave. It doesn't provide much to overlook the area, but he has made do with worse. Still it had forced him to use the secondary option of staying in one spot while maintaining control. Which doesn't provide much sight into what his guest is doing.

The best he can manage however, is some of it's other senses, touch, smell, a little bit hearing, and taste. Hence his earlier curse, just what did it eat? An animal of some sort? At least it wasn't a human...or he'll be feeling nauseous for days...

Among those was the most important one...it's instincts. Still, without any of those senses, he'll be blind to what his guest is doing. Hence the particular animal he decided to pick, a mountain wolf, particularly the breed that is known for it's most impressive trait...intelligence.

While this breed prefers to stay away from the settlements of man, hence the intelligence part, they are fierce when their territory is threatened. The one he is currently controlling was rather clever, it tried to lure him to an area where he could've been much harder to fight it in close quarters.

He would've been surprised by that, if it wasn't so visibly obvious. Still, for a technical primitive creature, it was almost impressive. Almost...

The man grunted as he felt a spike in his spell, the wolf must have encountered the Shepherds, or a large group of Risen. He strongly believed it was the former, as the spike was stronger than normal. To be specific...he felt the instincts of the wolf, calling on him to retreat. Which only an intelligent creature does when it's injured...outnumbered...or both.

Carefully, he willed the creature to move away, to enact the next step in his plan. He smirked as he willed his mana to next part in his spell.

'Have to careful with this part,' He thought as he prepared himself. 'Too much and I'll be completely drained for weeks. Too little, the spell will break, I'll be drained and that wolf _might _gain it's freedom.'

The amount of mana that was coursing through him is enough to keep the connection. But it's difficult to maintain full control, one false step in his movement and he'll risk severing the connection. With the slight chance of an undead creature being set loose, and he'll have to waste time hunting it down...again.

'Just like the bear,' He thought as he silently snickered. 'Shame it was killed, it was still doing what it was meant for.'

That part was still strange to him, when the bear _he _resurrected had lost it's connection, he expected it to attack the nearby village. But as soon as he saw for himself that it was still hunting Risen, he decided to wait and see how long it could last on it's own.

Needless to say that after it developed it's own habits. He decided to see it left alone, but news had traveled fast that it was slain. From the stories he managed to hear, it was the time traveling princess, that had cause a minor irritation to him. But now it is of no matter, as he knows that she'll be following her father back home.

'And unlike last time,' He thought as his smirk turned to a full smile. 'I'll make sure that in time, she'll receive a proper greeting.'

* * *

You know that moment where things are calm before the so called 'Storm'? Definitely feeling that right now...especially with the fact we heard a _wolf!?_

Lucina and I were moving cautiously through the forest, keeping our eyes open for anything undead. It was maybe twenty minutes or so, and weirdly enough there were no Risen in sight. Or heard for that matter, as much as I don't want to face off against undead people. I couldn't help but find that strange...

Then we heard it, in some distance away, we heard howling. The howling of a wolf...shit, of all things to make this worse. I may be wrong but, don't wolves usually travel in packs? I'm pretty sure that's what they usually do...really trying to not freak out.

Cause a pack of wolves might be much more difficult to deal with...they'll probably ambush us and bite off our necks. That or slowly eat us piece by...gonna stop thinking that now. Worst part about this...we're heading in the direction the howling was heard. I have no idea why Lucina wants to see these wolves, but I had little choice.

So I pretty much followed without protest...at least verbally.

Maybe she's a bit curious on why wolves are around? Since in the game you've never really fought wildlife other than mounts, a minor disappointment, would any be near Risen? I don't recall seeing any animals when we faced off against Risen, but that was because I was focusing on survival.

Then again would anything living be anywhere near the stench they generate? I'm in the middle of it, and I'm doing my best not to vomit. Wonder what the princess thinks of the smell...probably hateful and understandable words...

...I'm really desperate to think on the smell of Risen to distract myself from the fact that we might die. Even though I've come pretty close to it numerous times...thanks to my shitty ass luck. How the hell have I managed to live this long...I should be...

"Dammit," I harshly whispered to myself. "Just focus on surviving..."

"Did you say something Leon?" Lucina asks as she turns to look at me.

Shit, quick...say something, anything!

"Um, why are we heading in the direction we heard a wolf howl?" I blurted out, fear evident in my voice. "I'm...not sure if that's a wise decision."

...Dammit, by anything...I should really have said something else. Have to salvage this...

"Not I don't believe that you're not capable of defending both of us," I quickly add as she silently starred at me. "I...get the feeling that you are curious to why there are wolves out here, with Risen nearby."

The princess remained silent, she tilted her head a little. In curiosity or...can't really tell cause of that mask. It's bit difficult to guess what she's thinking with that thing on. Whatever the case, have to really careful in what I say...

"I may know next to nothing about these things," I slowly say after taking a deep breath. "But I tr-"

"_**AWOOO!**_"

A howl interrupts whatever I was going to say, the princess and I quickly looked in the direction it originated.

...That one sounded much closer, as much as I don't want to jinx it...but why did we only hear one? Something's really wrong...

"Stay behind me," Lucina says as she slowly drew out the Falchion. The holy blade glimmered a little as she lowered it.

* * *

"It was this direction right Robin?" Midori asked as she gripped her weapon.

"Yes, after Frederick tried to defend himself, that...thing clamped it's jaws on his sides and threw him." The tactician answers. "Judging by the distance we're moving...he's probably not far."

"Let's hope for that," The scythe user muttered as she let out a sigh. She may have been teasing the great knight, but she is worried about him. Since from what she remembers from the game...he's not supposed to die.

None of the shepherds should die, she knows that yet she's still feeling...

'Don't think about that now,' She thought as she gritted her teeth. 'We'll find Frederick then kill that damn wolf.'

"Jon, is Chrom doing alright?" Robin asks as she looks back.

"He's still out cold, but breathing." The swordsman grumbled. "He may not look like it, but he's heavy."

Midori couldn't help but snicker at that. After it was confirmed that the Ylissean prince wasn't badly injured. They attempted to wake him up, but it seemed that Chrom wasn't going to wake up. Jon was 'volunteered' to carry the prince on his back...and is probably a little bit annoyed by it.

'Not like I was going to carry him.' She thought as she glanced around the area.

"There!" Robin's sudden yell caught the scythe user's attention. "It's Frederick's shield..."

The tactician crouched in front of said object, the shield was flat on the ground. Large drag marks were leading away from it, specks of blood were in them.

"He's injured and possibly moved into cover." The white haired woman summarized as she stood up. "We should hurry, he's likely in need of assistance."

No one said anything as they quickened their pace, for what felt like hours or minutes they move threw the trees. Following the trail to it's end, with the hope that it wasn't a dead knight. Then they came onto a odd sight...

Frederick was sitting against a tree, visibly unconscious sitting in a small pool of blood. With a sword in one hand and a bottle in the other. But what was odd was the fact that two familiar faces were in front of him. Except that one of the familiar faces was wearing a mask.

"Um, this isn't what it's looks like." Leon said as he raised his hands. "We just found him like this..."

"Right, normally I would question but now's not the time." Robin quickly said as she moved to the knight's side, she rummaged through her robes. Then stops as she stared at the knight again, her violet eyes widened.

"He's covered in blood but no visible wounds." She said as she looked the pair. "Did the two of you..."

"Marth healed him," Leon answered as he suddenly looked at the down knight. "Which is good since he might have bled to death."

"Then you have our thanks," The tactician said as she let out a sigh of relief. 'Marth' simply nodded, choosing to not say anything else.

While Midori discretely let out a breath of relief, she was glad that Frederick will be fine. Now she get's to tease him more when she has the chance...after that damn wolf dies.

"So..." Leon's low voice get's everyone's attention. "Can you explain what exactly did this to Fre-this knight of your's? Does this have to do with your prince being carried?"

"Yes," Robin said as she let out a sigh. "Though right now we should get ourselves to the outpost, it isn't far. We'll be vulnerable if we try to take these two over the bridge."

"Alright, then can we take off this guy's armor?" The self proclaimed tactician asked. "We may be slowed down if we try to lift him or drag him there."

The white haired tactician stayed silent, then nodded as she along with Leon moved to take off the armor.

Midori quickly about-faced, as much as she wants to watch them 'strip' Frederick. It'll be more productive if she stand watch for them.

Besides, she'll make her own opportunities to see the great knight without his armor...later.

* * *

Well...shit...didn't expect to see Frederick without armor. Even though I suggested to remove the thing, it's kinda strange. At least it's keeping distracted, since Robin is _right _next to me. I swear her eyes are a bit more reflective then when I saw them the last time.

And I'm getting off track aren't I?

After we heard the wolves or a wolf howl again, Lucina and I moved towards it. Actually it was more like curve around it, we went in a way that was meant for us to see something. Then be able to flee if we needed to...at least that was the vibe I was getting off of the princess's movements. If that's the case then she's pretty clever...

Anyway, we didn't expect to run into Frederick, who was already unconscious. As soon as we saw the blood, Lucina immediately raised the Falchion and healed him the same way she did with me. It was...interesting to watch it being done without being on the receiving end of it.

From what I saw, not only did the blade glow, but Lucina did as well. Though it was more like a thin white silhouette that surrounded her. It's kinda hard to explain, but I think it's because she might have put more power into it since it was Frederick...I'll ask her that when I get the chance.

"Alright," Robin's voice forces me from my thoughts. "Now for the breast plate."

"The straps on these things are on the back or sides?" I ask as I remove and placed an armored gauntlet to the side.

"From what I've seen it's both," The tactician said as she got to work. "I honestly have no idea how he's ever taken it off."

Have no idea what she means by that, but whatever have to focus on removing this plate.

A few minutes pass and Robin and I are able to remove the plate of his armor, which was a bit heavy, we quickly moved to his leggings. I have to admit, it felt kinda strange doing this...other than the fact I'm technically undressing another man. Not even feeling bothered that my hands are a little soaked in blood...which still feels oddly warm.

Really grateful that Lucina was able heal the knight...it really would've been really bad if he died.

Maybe it's because that tactician and I are almost in sync. The speed we're going at is about the same, I just have a little bit of trouble removing some of the straps. At least this will give me some ideas on how to fight armored opponents, since I just know that's inevitable.

As you might expect, the armpits, along with the arms, wrists and back of the knees are somewhat exposed. An obvious part meant to keep mobility with it's user, since it's the flaw with medieval based armor. While it does protect you like a tank, you'll end up moving like one. I know that's an over simplifying it but still...

Shouldn't there be armor smiths, or some form of researcher that is trying to counter that kind of problem? Since this is a world that's kinda like an RPG, there's bound to be someone with a revolutionary armor design...hopefully.

Meh, probably over thinking it...besides I learned some potential weaknesses if I have to fight Frederick. That's a big _IF _mind you, I really don't want to engage _any_ of the Shepherds in battle. But if I have no other choice...behind the knees, wrists, armpits...the areas I should go for.

But since I really don't want to kill him, aim for the knees and wrists, a small chance to disable him. Though that's if he doesn't use a shield...I'll think up other ways later. I sound like a bad guy right now, don't I? Dammit, don't want to end up like a certain brown haired boy with a certain black notebook of death. Really hate that guy...I'd rather be L.

"And we're done..." I said as I slowly scattered those particular thoughts away. Can't be distracted right now...

"Right," Robin says, making me look at her. "We should move..."

And with that, Robin made Lon'qu carry Frederick. I actually wasn't expecting that, since I was planning to volunteer. Though I doubt I would be able to carry the knight, since my strength stat is complete crap. But with Lon'qu being used, that's make one less defensive option.

Sure Lucina has been added to this 'party', but that leaves it the same. Plus since I have no weapon, and a shitty skill set, that adds another burden to this. I really am a useless NPC as this point...fuck.

I sighed as I continued my pace, Robin was right next me and we were leading from the front. A stupid decision tactic wise, but I really don't care right now. Lucina had chose to hang back, she's next to Jon since he's carrying Chrom.

"So Leon," Robin starts to whisper, making me look at her. "Rather interesting to see you again..."

"U-um, what do you mean by that?" I ask, trying to not actually look at her eyes. Since I'll probably be distracted by them...also why is she whispering!?

She narrows her eyes a little, "Well since the last time we met that was in Regna Ferox, now you and Marth are here. The main road to Ylisse, do you have business there?"

Well shit...I'm being questioned by her of all people. Dammit, have to keep it simple and true...ish.

"Well...I wanted to see Ylisstol," I whisper back, giving off a smirk. "I heard that it was...beautiful, nothing quite like it on this continent."

"Interesting...I take it you're from a different land?"

...Why does it feel like she's trying to extract some information from me? Not actually being paranoid...just those eyes of her's...

"Really far to the east..." I try to wave off, doing my best to not look directly at her eyes...again. "I'll tell you more once things become more...safe. Deal?"

The tactician raised an eyebrow, "Alright...I'll hold you to it."

I said the wrong thing didn't I? Shit, if Robin's a little suspicious of me, then she's definitely not showing it. She's the last person I want, other than Lucina, to figure out my bullshit. Maybe I should direct the conversation elsewhere...

"So Robin," I slowly start to say. "What exactly attacked that knight? From what I've seen, that couldn't have been a Risen."

"...Your right on that, but it would better to explain when we reach the outpost. At least there we have an actual defensive position."

Always three steps ahead...still why is she putting it off? Also, weren't these outposts/forts close to the bridge? Is the distance different since this is real? Still, whatever did that to Frederick, it's bad. If my luck is still complete crap, then we're likely going to encounter it soon. If that happens, I'll have to hang back, possibly behind a tree.

I'm really pathetic, aren't I?

* * *

'What were those two talking about?' Jon thought as he slowly adjusted himself. He made sure to not let the prince tilt in a off angle. It would be difficult to hold on to him...

He mentally sighed as he glanced at the person next him. Who seemed to be doing her best to not look in his direction...for obvious reasons. Still it was rather interesting to see the princess again...the first time when they were engaging the Risen...she had helped a lot.

Unlike what he remembered from that blasted game, Lucina was fighting along side them. She mostly stuck by Chrom and Lissa's side...again for obvious reasons. The amount of skill and experience she showed off...it was truly incredible sight.

'It makes it a little sad since she's definitely younger than me.' He thought as he narrowed his eyes a little bit. 'Come to think of it, I'm probably the second oldest out of everyone here. With Frederick respectfully as the first...'

'Gods...I'm really that old...' He mentally chuckled as a smirked formed on his lips. 'Considering how young I was when I first arrived...'

"Heh, so long ago..." He whispered to himself.

The princess glanced at him as soon as he said that. He figured as much...might as well use this opportunity.

"Say Marth, since your out here...do you have business in Ylisse?" He asks in a low voice.

As expected the princess remained silent as she looked away. Jon did all he could to hold back a smirk, he wonder how far should he go...he doesn't want to alienate her. Nor give away something but...he has to do it or any future interactions won't be to _their_ advantage. As wrong as it may be...it's sadly needed.

"Figured you'd be silent..." He whispers as he looks on ahead. "Still, like Robin and I had discussed awhile back...it's a coincidence that we're seeing you again. Even after you gave us that rather vague warning."

Again, the princess remained silent, almost tempting him to actually smirk.

"Whatever the reason," He looks back at her. "I trust that you don't have any malice toward us. But-"

"Marth, we're switching, need you to guard Lon'qu." Midori's voice interrupts him. "It'll be easier for you, since he doesn't want me to get close."

Without even saying anything, the time travel nods at the battlemage before moving towards the back.

"What the hell were you doing?" The scythe user asked as she fell in with him.

"...I was-"

"Don't even try to hide it," The raven haired woman gritted her teeth. "You were planing on messing with her weren't you? Trying to find the cracks in her facade..."

"When you put it like that," The swordsmen starts to say. "You make me sound like an ass, I'm nothing like my brother."

"Don't even try to crawl away," She whispered harshly. "You clearly didn't see how she was reacting, she hands were slowing twitching, a sign I've guessed is when something is probably annoying her."

Jon raised an eyebrow, that sounded...interesting.

"It happened when I called her out when I was talking to Leon," She continues, "She seemed annoyed that I was able see her."

"And you assume that something bad might happen to me?" He asks narrowing his eyes a little. "Like being told off or something?"

"Nah, she's not Severa, she would probably stab you repeatedly instead," Midori said calmly. "Though for some reason she seems to hold _some_ restraint with Leon. Maybe she's gotten used to him...still, since you're our 'unofficial' leader, I'm warning _you_ not to do anything stupid. Or else it could end badly...got it?"

'Well this is interesting,' Jon thought as started to ignore her. 'She's obviously taken a liking to Lucina, not really surprised. She's likely planning to take the princess under her wing. Same goes for Leon...'

"And now your ignoring me, don't say I didn't warn you...asshole."

'Naga help us if that actually happens...'

* * *

"Damn..." The man growled as he fought off the rising pain. "Didn't expect it to be this soon."

The amount mana his spell had drained was much more than he anticipated. So much so, that his connection with his guest is wearing thin, as well as causing spasms of pain. The wolf was much stronger in terms of will than the bear. Somehow it slowly started to fight against him, possibly because it was freshly killed.

The bear was resurrected a week after it had died naturally. It's will was weaker than paper so it was relatively easy to control. He only lost connection with it when he was testing the distance of control. Whatever the cause for this case, it only showed that he still underestimated the workings of dark magic.

He violently coughed into his hands, traces of blood escaped his mouth.

'I'm reaching my limit,' He thought as he gritted his teeth. 'If I continue on like this, then things may become dire...very well then.'

"I only wanted to test them, not kill." He reminded himself, slowly willing what mana he had left. "I suppose then I should at least clean up after my own failures. This won't kill the wolf, but it should help the shepherds...provided if they figure out the trick _behind_ it..."

Dark clouds form at the edges of his sight as he released the rest of his mana into a secondary spell. A spell that was reserved for a outcome such as this...

He let out one last grunt of pain before stinking on his knees, then falling on his side.

'Hopefully I hadn't underestimated _her_ ability...to survive.' He thought as the dark tethers of unconsciousness pull him in.

* * *

We were able to make it into the outpost without incident. Rather anticlimactic as that was, but I guess it's better than having to race through a random number of Risen to get inside.

The outpost itself had four stone walls, each close to twenty feet or so, but I could be wrong. There was only one way in, and that was through a large wooden door. It looked looked like it had seen better days. Inside was small building with a tower sticking out of it. It looked high enough to over looked the area, guess it's perfect for synchronizing the map.

Terrible reference aside, I guess it can help us see if something comes our way. Jon and Lon'qu had placed Chrom and Frederick down on some beds we found. They looked a bit dirty but I guess it's better then on the ground. Everyone else went on to do their own thing.

Jon and Lon'qu had moved to reinforce the door with with some boards of wood that laid scattered about. They don't look much but it's better nothing. Lucina was pulled away by Midori to check the tower. The princess looked a bit reluctant to leave her father...but she went up there...

Robin had chose to sit down and watch after Frederick and Chrom. She looked really frustrated, she sighed and rubbed her head when she looked at the prince and knight.

She needs help...that much is obvious. I guess I should do something...

"You doing alright?" I asked as I moved in next her.

"Huh?"

"You doing alright, Robin?" I ask again as I stared at her.

For the past few minutes of her sitting there, she's been narrowing her eyebrows and gritting her teeth. Then just shake her head and the whole thing starts over again.

"I...I'm fine." She finally says as she shook her head.

No she's not...don't need to be a tactician in order to see that. Dammit, we need her in order to survive...so I guess I'll adjust my 'role play' a bit. This is going to a bit embarrassing...I really hope I don't get distracted by her eyes. Years of reading and watching Anime/Manga...don't fail me now.

"That's an obvious lie," I bluntly say as I pull up a random chair and sit next to her.

The tactician sighed again, "Guess I'm not good at fooling people then..."

"Um...right since your frustrated face is actually joy..." I awkwardly say, cause that sounded a bit better in my head. "Moving on from that, how can I help?"

"What?"

Okay, have her attention, now to play this right...really embarrassing.

"Yeah, since we're both tacticians." I smile like an idiot. "Though I'm actually in training, but who cares about technicalities?"

"I know that virtually we know nothing about each other," I sighed out. "But still we need each other's help in order to survive this."

"And what exactly are you proposing?" Robin asks, her analytical violet eyes staring at my brown ones. Can't mess this part up...have to do it right.

"That depends," I slowly say as I tilted my head. "As we tacticians are armed with the most powerful weapon..."

"And that is?"

"The truest...most deadliest weapon of them all..." I let out another idiotic smile. "Knowledge."

The tactician merely raised her eyebrow, seeming a bit confused on what I meant by it.

"Yes, I'm obviously pulling _that _particular card." I slowly stood up from the chair. "Still as many wise men have said, knowledge _is_ power, and the point I'm trying to make."

"Is that if both of us have equal knowing of what this situation is..." I say as I raise a hand toward the sky. "Then we have a better chance of making a plan to get everyone out of this alive..."

Silence fills the space between us, after a few seconds Robin starts to giggle then it proceeded to full blown laughter.

Um...what's going on? Why is she doing that? Please don't tell me that she's lost it...

"Heheh...it's nice to see someone who doesn't have burdens," She slowly said as she still giggled a little. "Or at least doesn't try to show it anyway, still thanks."

"Huh? For what?" I ask, completely confused by what's going on.

"From what I can easily tell, you actually mean well." She explains giving a rather nice looking smile. "Your eyes reflected hints of kindness and worry...among other things."

Huh?

"Reflected? You mean you can read people?" I ask, if that's so then that's freaking awesome. Also terrifying since it may be used against me in the future.

"Not exactly that simple," She says as she shook her head. "It doesn't work for everyone I meet, but that's a story for another time."

Okay, guess there's something to look forward to...

"You wanted to know what attacked our knight?" She asked as she slowly closed her eyes. "Right?"

"Um...yes?" I'm finally getting some answers?

"Then sit back down," Robin's eyes opened as her face becomes serious. "I have a feeling that we may have some time, so I'll explain as best as I can then we plan our next move."

I simply nodded as I quietly sat down next to her.

She glanced at the prince and knight then back at me.

Something tells me that things are about to get interesting...and that's not a good thing.

* * *

**A/N: I apologize for the lateness and shortness of this chapter. In truth I am currently enrolled in college and it's rather...tiring. There's so many assignments and studying I have to get done. So as you might expect it's affecting the amount of work I can do on this story. Which is so much fun to do...**

**So expect some lateness in chapters, as it sad but true that studying and school work is more important. Besides that, I'm learning some _interesting _things that can hopefully be implemented into this fic. Cannot wait to try them out...later.**

**And with that ends that little notice...as usual Read, Review, or find a better fic to read.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**RoseWarden: Yeah that is a pretty bad nightmare, since I'm the one who's experienced it before. I really have to stop watching Anime so late at night...it makes me dream weird stuff.**

**Midori is so much fun to do, I just know the right thing for her to say or do. She's one of my favorite OCs that I've created...even though I love all of my OCs...which kinda makes feel like a proud parent. As weird as that may sound...**

**Anyway, there are so many questions as to what they are doing and planning. Though one thing is true however, chaos will inevitability spawn, and that I cannot wait for.**

**Also...thanks, I've been trying hard to make this story...decent...it's nice to know that someone thinks of it like that. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Once again...there will be shift in views in this chapter...sorry for any confusion that happens. **

**Still debating if this will be an actual thing or just only do it for certain chapters.**

**Wouldn't mind an opinion or two on that...your choice.**

* * *

Midori sighed as she slowly leaned against her weapon.

"See anything, Marth?" She asked the princess, knowing the answer anyway.

"...No." Lucina merely says as she gazes around.

The tower they were standing in was tall enough to see above the trees, but that also meant they couldn't see through them that much. Though it did show them the other towers in the other outposts. From the looks of it, each was quite a distance away...

'These might have been used as signal towers, or something like that.' She thought as she let out another sigh. 'Kinda weird that there's four of them, two on this side same for the other. Wonder why...'

'Meh, there's nothing out there, for now.' She shrugged to herself. 'Still..._when_ that wolf shows up, I'm going to cut it's freaking head off.'

"We should head back down," The scythe user said as she strapped her weapon. "Might be a good idea to check up with Robin."

The princess stayed silent as she followed, Midori payed no mind to it. Of course she would be like this, she wouldn't be surprised if the time child barely held any trust for her. Though she did find that a bit sad...as she's definitely still a child.

'Think about cheering her up later,' The battlemage mentally shook her head. 'Just get to Robin, she's probably figuring out a plan. Might actually be able to help her...'

And with that, a blur of a few minutes passed, or more but she really didn't bother keeping track.

"That pretty much sums up our current situation." Robin's voice could be heard as they grew closer.

"Well..." Leon's voice was heard as Midori slowly turned a corner. "Of all things it had to be a _Risen wolf_. I know it's idiotic to ask this...but are you sure it wasn't some kind of large animal?"

The scythe user rose an eyebrow when she stopped at the two. Both were on chairs and close to one another.

"I understand your doubt, but unfortunately our eyes weren't deceiving us." The white haired tactician sighed as she leaned against her palm. "What we saw, was some sort of Wolf Risen. Something we've never faced before...it was strong enough to incapacitate Chrom and Frederick."

"Fuck," Leon groans as he gripped his head. "Another one...dammit why couldn't it be just human ones?"

"Another?" That caught Robin's attention. "What do you mean?"

"Yeah, what do you mean?" Midori asked as she made herself known to the two.

Both the tactician and self proclaimed one turned to look at her, then at something behind her. No doubt that it was princess...

"Well...Marth..." Leon starts to say as he stared behind Midori. "It's something they should know...is it okay if I tell them?"

The scythe user curiously looked back at the princess. She was silently staring at Leon, but finally sighs after a minute then nods.

* * *

So she's okay with it...good. It would have complicated things if she didn't...

I let out a sigh before looking directly on Robin.

Okay here goes...keep it simple...try not to screw up or give yourself away, since the tactician and princess are right there.

"Sometime ago, Marth and I had encountered a bear," I slowly say to the tactician. "Only that this bear wasn't normal, it's fur was discolored, parts of it's flesh were missing, and it's eyes were devoid of any color. It pretty much was a Risen like creature."

Robin's eyes widened but she chose to not say anything.

"That thing was strong, and fast...nothing I ever seen before." I continue. "The strangest part of that thing was it's behavior. It was killing other Risen..."

"Wait, what!?" Midori practically shouted. "It's was fighting others like it? Why?"

"I...honestly can't answer that..." I sighed, memories of the Risen bear slowly surfacing. "From what I saw, it had some level of intelligence, but beyond that...there was nothing else."

"Were the two of you able to kill it?" Robin asks, narrowing her analytical eyes. "Any notable weaknesses you saw?"

"Marth was the one that killed it." I answer, slowly rubbing my head. "I barely helped at all...there was a visible weakness on the bear's back. Since it had an axe stuck on it...Marth was able to stab that particular spot and kill it."

The tactician nodded as she rested her head on her palms. Her eyes looked incredibly focused, like she was analyzing every word I've said.

"From what I said earlier to Leon..." She slowly says. "The Risen like wolf had black fur, pieces of it were missing, but it's eyes were the same as a Risen."

I nodded, "The eyes are the only difference to the bear. Wonder if it has a similar weakness."

"From what I've observed and fought," Robin says, narrowing her eyes again. "Most of the human like Risen tend to die when they are struck in the right area or gain enough damage."

They haven't encountered a Revenant? I'll ask about that later...

"So it might possible that the wolf and bear Risen follow the same principles." I say, slowly connecting the invisible dots. "Though this is all just theory, plus we don't know how the wolf behaves compared to the bear. They might be different...this one might be more intelligent."

Since it did suddenly just run off, at least from what Robin had described.

"That's true..." She sighed as she looked back at the sleeping prince and knight. Have to admit they look rather peaceful, still to bad they're out of it. They would've added an immense amount of strength to this 'party'...

Wait...

"Hey Robin," I slowly say, gaining the tactician's attention. "You said that you decided to take a small group across the bridge. Does that mean that the rest of your forces are across the river?"

"Yes, I'm guessing your thinking of getting reinforcements?"

That sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Right since larger numbers might have a better chance to take that thing down." I say, then looked back at the two unconscious warriors. "Though...since those two are in that state, if we try to move them with us across the bridge. Which is open ground...we'll be in trouble."

"Pretty much what I said before," The tactician said as she sighed. "We could split into smaller groups but that will severely limit our capacity to fight. As much as it will provide an increase in movement, I'd rather not risk anyone with the little knowledge we have now."

Damn...she's right. If we split ourselves up, then we're likely to get picked off one by one. Divide and conquer...the wolf will have an easier job to get it's meal. There has to be a way to at least send a message of help across or at least warn them somehow.

Since it might have been some time since they went across the bridge, the rest of the Shepherds are likely to get a little curious. If they cross the bridge with no intel on what's going on, then there'll be casualties.

"We have to warn them somehow," I mutter out loud as I gritted my teeth. "Really don't want anyone to die..."

"...Why not use the tower?"

Huh?

Both me and Robin turn to look at Midori, who had her arms crossed.

"I mean, from what it looked like, this was some kind of signal tower." The scythe user said as she adjusted her glasses. "If we use it..."

"Then we have a chance to show them where we are." The tactician says as she stands up from her chair. "Though it may not be able to give a clear message...thankfully I have something to fix that."

Quickly, she rummaged through her robes before bringing out a large book. As she opens it, her hand slides across the pages.

What is she...

Slowly her hand started to glow in a yellow-ish light, then sparks of electricity appear between her fingers as she held it out.

"I was fortunately able to give the shepherds the idea for communicating over certain distances." She explains as she stared at her electrified hand. "In the scenario that anyone is separated, though I was only able to think up a form that only worked if they had a mage with them."

"Always three steps ahead aren't you?" I asked, then blush like crazy when I realized what I said.

Dammit, she had to be using a form of magic I like. Her gem like eyes, proficient use of a sword, and now thunder magic...what next? She's secretly a badass transforming CPU!? Like in Hyperdimension Neptunia?

Oh my goodness, I don't think I'll be able handle that...I rather have the CPU Neptune/Purple Heart, fall from the sky and land on top of me. I just invoked Murphy's law didn't I? Crap, the last thing we need is for it to be raining Nep-Neps...I don't think this world is prepared for that random fourth wall breaking pudding loving goddess. Or any world for that matter...

Blanc or Noire are a bit more reasonable...as well as being a bit more mature. But Noire is your typical workaholic cosplaying Tsundere, that has no friends, at least that is what Neptune would say. So Blanc is pretty much appropriate for this world, despite her...temper and foul mouth. Seriously, I think _Sully _would be taken aback by how much that CPU can curse. Plus her country represents _that_ console after all...I wonder if Rom and Ram would join her since they represent a certain handheld that has a three D with an S.

Yeah, that was a terrible reference. Also, I really must be desperate to think of something this random...cause I think I'm starting to develop a _tiny_ crush on Robin. Fuck...

"Heh, while I don't actually plan that far ahead, I'd liked to be prepared." Robin's voice brings me back reality. "Anyway, we should quickly move to the top of the tower."

"Um, Robin," I say in a low voice barely getting her attention. "Is it alright if Marth and I wait here? In case either your prince and knight wake up?"

The tactician raised an eyebrow at my question. Shit, she's suspicious...I shouldn't have said anything.

"Well, I suppose both of you could," She finally says after a minute or so. Her violet eyes still staring at me. "Let me know if either of them wake up."

And with that both Robin and Midori left for the tower. The scythe user did spare both me and Lucina a glance before she followed after the tactician.

One...two...three...why am I even counting?

I sighed as the princess moved in a bit closer to the unconscious prince. Her hand was resting on the hilt of the Falchion. She looked like she wanted to pull it out and heal him right then and there.

"You really want to help him don't you." I stated as I watched her. Poor kid...she really cares for her father.

"...Yes." She reluctantly says, surprisingly in her normal voice. "But it wouldn't work..."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked as I slowly got up and moved towards her. "Is it because he's unconscious and not injured?"

Lucina merely nods then becomes silent.

"If you want, I can give you some time here alone." I offered, as it is obvious that he's important to her.

"...Thank you but it's not needed." She says as she slowly back away from the prince.

I merely sighed as I moved back to the chair. Slowly taking out the journal as I sat back down.

Okay, I assume it may take some time for Robin to do her signal thing. As much as I want to watch an awesome light show, I should be productive and figure out a basis for a strategy. I'm 'supposed' to be a tactician after all...so I might as well be of use.

I took out a mechanical pencil and started writing.

* * *

"It's pretty quiet," Jason said as he stared across the bridge. "Too quiet..."

"Think something's happened?" Anna asked.

The merchant sighed as his hand rested his hand on the hilt of his blade.

"Likely," He slowly said, "Whatever was causing the howling has appeared to stop. Either Robin and the others had encountered it and took it out...or..."

He shook his head as he rubbed his neck. "I'm sure Jon and Robin can handle it."

His wife nodded as she looked across the wooden bridge. Her hand was on the hilt of her steel sword, gripping it in a way only he can recognize.

'She's wants to go across and help them,' He thought as he mentally sighed. 'As much as I want to join her...we both know it's not a good idea. We have no idea what's really going on, plus whatever made those howls didn't sound normal. It might have been a wolf but something's off about it...'

Slowly his hands clenched into fists, 'Dammit, I hate waiting like this...Jon and Midori better be alright.'

"Jason, look!"

The merchant snapped back to reality as he looked in the direction Anna was pointing at.

One of the towers across the river had a light flashing from it. Only that it's flashing was a bit rabid but orderly somehow...

'Some sort of code?' He guessed as he crossed his arms. 'I don't think Jon is doing that, Midori would've leveled a section of the forest or something, so it might be Robin.'

Quietly he looked behind them and saw that some of the shepherds took notice of the flashing light.

A smirked formed across his lips, 'I guess we don't have to wait for answers.'

* * *

Midori couldn't help but stare in awe at Robin.

Her concentration was incredible as she adjusted the amount of mana in her palm. It was something else, compared to Robin, her mana control could be that of a beginner. Which is isn't really too exaggerated...

'Well she's probably had years worth of experience.' The scythe user thought as she adjusted her glasses. 'I've only been in this world for a few years, and only started to use magic a few months after I arrived. Robin might have been using it her whole life. Though I guess I'm exaggerating a little...'

'Still...I know a certain someone who would be interested in this.' She thought as she rests her head in her hands. 'Though I probably won't mention it to her till later, cause I'm still mad at her. Immature but she's so-'

"Alright, I think my message got through." The tactician's voice breaks her from her thoughts.

"What exactly did you tell them?" Midori asked, from what she saw it looked to be some form of morse code.

"Oh, I only managed to make a simple message." Robin says as she puts away the tome. "Don't cross bridge. Danger. I repeated it several times, I hope Miriel managed to decipher it."

The scythe user nodded, she never met the mage personally. Mostly because Jon had instructed her to avoid any 'unnecessary' contact with any of the Shepherds. Since she showed off her abilities in the arena, it's of no doubt that questions will be raised.

Even though it made her look a bit...unsociable. But that didn't stop her from having _some_ conversations with a few of the Shepherds. Like with Sumia and Stahl, they were...pleasant to be around with.

"We should tell the others what's going on." Robin says, gaining the battlemage's attention. "We need to discuss our next course of action."

Midori said nothing as she and the tactician moved from the tower.

A few minutes later they arrive back at the spot they left the princess and self proclaimed tactician.

"Dammit, can't figure out a way to fight it..." Said self proclaimed tactician groaned as he gripped the small black book he was holding.

"Trying out a strategy?" Robin asked as she stood next to him.

The little baka flinched at the white haired woman's presence.

"Um...yeah, I was trying to think of a way to fight that Risen Wolf. Based from what you told me as well as...the Risen Bear." He explains, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "But I can't think up of anything that'll be effective. Unless we somehow keep it in one spot and stab it till it dies...we're out matched."

The tactician nodded as she crossed her arms.

"A creature that appears to have a level of intelligence, is stronger and faster than any of us." She lists out loud. "Fighting it on open ground would be ineffective and dangerous. Close combat is dangerous unless..."

She suddenly snaps her fingers. "Unless we do keep it in a single spot...and have it's attention divided."

"Divide and strike..." Leon mutters out loud, his eye widening. "You mean launching split timed attacks? That distracts it...forcing it to dodge if it tries to attack...that's...risky."

"Yes, but since there are two mages here," Robin slowly says as she tilts her head. "If we can coordinate our assault carefully, then our close ranged fighters can possibly weaken it until there's an opportunity."

"You and Midori are clearly the mages in this," The little baka says, narrowing his eyes. "And I assume the close ranged fighters will be Marth and Lon'qu? Cause those two are the only ones I can think of that pull this off. If it's even possible..."

The tactician nodded, "From what I observed in our fight in the arena and here, Marth and Lon'qu should be fast and strong enough."

"This is all completely risky and possibly suicidal," Leon says, his voice filled with obvious worry. "But...if they take out it's legs...then go for the neck...if the four of you focus your attacks...it_ might_ work."

The white haired woman sighed as she nods again.

"Before we even agree to this," Midori speaks up, finally deciding to say something. "We should lay this out with the others, since it involves all of our lives."

"Right," The tactician agreed.

* * *

I'll be honest...I'm completely worried about this idea.

Sure Robin was the one that came up with it, but still I can't help but shake off this feeling of dread. So many things can go wrong...what if that thing is more intelligent than we think? What if it's much stronger or faster than we thought? What if Lon'qu or worse..._Lucina_ makes a mistake and gets killed because of it?

Dammit...why did I pick tactician...I could off played off as a naive merchant from some other country. Who barely understood the currency system of this land...

...About ten minutes had passed since Robin and I had that little discussion. Like Midori suggested, she gathered everyone together and told them the plan.

Lon'qu and Lucina were silent about it, kinda predictable...and Jon had rose an eyebrow but didn't seem surprised. That I found kinda strange, has he done something like that before?

Whatever Robin had told them that she and I will iron out the details. So she and I, that actually means her while I try not to screw up and get them killed.

"Leon, may I ask you something?" The tactician's voice brings me from my thoughts.

"What is it?" I asked, slowly rubbing my neck.

"Do you think this will work?" She asks, her face was serious. "With what we're up against...I feel like we're missing something."

Um...I'm supposed to be the one 'doubting' this...right? Shit...if Robin is doubting herself...her plan...we're screwed. Damn...have to say something...anything...

"Um...honestly...I'm a little scared about this," I slowly say as I look directly at her. "No plan can truly follow through...something may or may not happen. Still we shouldn't let it bother us...we're tacticians aren't we? Maybe thinking about the bad outcomes can help us steer to the good ones...does that help?"

Cause honestly...I'm surprised that I didn't screw that up.

"A little...yes..." Robin says before giving a small smile. "We should hurry and get this done, I rather not spend a night here with that thing lurking about."

I nodded as we both moved to get everyone...again.

* * *

In all honesty...Jon wasn't surprised by the tactician's plan. He actually expected her to _eventually_ think up ideas such as these. Eventually...though that didn't stop the nervous tick that was slowly filling his gut.

Maybe he should have told them about the time he and a few companions fought a few wolves. Since it might be possible that Wolf like Risen might behave similarly to ones he fought. But he isn't that knowledge about the creatures that inhabit this world. Unlike one of his kind that often refers to himself as a 'monster slayer'. Though that's for another time...

Still...there are a large number of creatures and animals that might not have been mentioned at all in that blasted game. Another thing to add to the ever growing list what he'll never really understand.

The swordsman snickered to himself as he stared at the forest. After Robin and Leon went to finish the exact details of their plan, he decided to take a look around from the tower. To see if there's any sign of the wolf...

Needless to say that so far...he hasn't seen or heard anything. And that is starting to bother him...from what he freshly remembered, the wolf is huge and loud. Yet somehow it was able to mask it's presence, long enough to ambush Robin and the others. True that everyone did hear it...but no one saw it until it ambushed Frederick.

To be able to that...was a bit disturbing. Though two questions now is...why isn't it howling now or trying to get through the gate?

While it did appear to have intelligence, something doesn't seem right or for him...feel.

'If only our monster slayer was with us,' Jon thought as he rubbed his forehead. 'He'd might have been able to come up with a reason. Sadly he's in Ylisse with the others...'

'Still, hopefully the rest of the shepherds will stay back, as well as Jason. Anna better have her leash ready to hold him back.' He snickered as he rested his hand on the hilt of his blade. 'Since I actually saw it...gods that was an awkward and hilarious birthday. Midori can be such a cruel _mistress...'_

"Jon? You up here?" Asked said _mistress_ as she appeared behind him.

"What is it?" The swordsman asks as he turned his head.

"Robin is gathering everyone again." She says, a small tint of excitement in her tone. "She's finished with the details, and I think she's going to explain them."

Jon nodded as he motioned her to lead on. He knows that since the plan involves four people, two may have to be left behind. To not only watch over the two unconscious men, but also not get in the way.

After a blur-ish few minutes, they arrived in time for the gathering.

Robin had started going over the details of the plan, but the swordsman had tuned it out. Mostly because he knew that he was going to stay behind, as well as one other...it might be a good opportunity.

"So that pretty much it," Leon says as the tactician finished. "Just be careful and watch for any change in movement. Don't take any unneeded risks..."

Everyone nodded as they started moving to the gate. He did notice the self proclaimed tactician pull Lucina to the side for a second and whisper something to her. Whatever he said, the princess stared at him for a second before nodding then moving on.

'Well that was...interesting.' Jon thought before looking away.

"Jon...exactly how did you and Lon'qu manage to do this?" Midori asks as she points out the thing blocking the gate.

"Well..." He starts to say as he rubbed his head. "We just...over did it."

The gate that was the only known entrance into the outpost was heavily boarded. Though boarded was a loose term, as Jon and Lon'qu...mostly Jon, had took whatever wasn't anchored to the ground. Which include a number of wooden boards, a few spare chairs, a random bed laying about, even a few wooden barrels.

Yes...he went a bit overboard, or not considering the very thing they trying to protect themselves from.

After a few silent minutes of moving some of the obstacles from one part of the gate.

"Alright..." Robin says as she slowly opened the gate. "Jon...I need you and Leon to stay behind. In case Chrom or Frederick wake up, or if that thing ends up coming here."

"Understood," He says, not surprised in the least. "Leon...you completely unarmed?"

The self proclaimed tactician blushed as he rubbed his head.

"I did have a weapon...but I...lost it." He says, embarrassment evident in his voice.

"That so..." Jon said as he looked at Robin. "I didn't see any spare weapons in the outpost. Think you can spare him your sword? Two armed people might fare better then one."

The white haired tactician rose an eyebrow, then sighed as she rummaged through her robes.

"Hopefully, I don't get close to that thing," She mutters as she pulled out a sheathed blade. "Here, try not to drop it."

Was that some kind of insult or an actual suggestion? The swordsman couldn't say...

"T-thank you..." Leon said in a low voice. "...You won't regret this..."

Robin nodded as she motioned those selected to follow her. As soon as they were clear, Jon moved to close the gates. He noticed the self-proclaimed tactician staring at them as the gate slowly closed.

'This is going to be interesting,' He thought as a plan formed in his mind. 'Have an opportunity...might as well use it. Like with the princess, I can't alienate him. Might have to give him the choice soon, but I need to check something...'

* * *

"You're really worried about them aren't you."

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the swordsman. Was I that easy to read?

"...Yeah..." I finally say after a minute. "I'm not doubting their skills if your thinking that, it's just..."

"You're the type to worry about other people, whether they're in danger or not." He guessed as he motions me to follow him.

"Close but not exactly what you think," I say as I slowly follow after him. My hand was gripping Robin's sword...can't believe she gave it to me. "Why are you asking this anyway?"

Crap...sounded a bit too hostile...but I want to know what he's playing at. I really don't know him at all, plus my time with Jason and Midori has taught me to be cautious...and a little doubtful. Sad but true...since they're the ones crying wolf. Pun unintended...if that counts as one...

"Just checking on something," He says as his hand rested on the hilt of his sword. "From what Jason had privately told me...your planning on sticking with 'Marth'."

He using Lucina's alias...is he doing that in case Chrom or Frederick listen in? Can't think of another reason...

"And your point is?"

The swordsman narrowed his eyes, "Of all people, why that one? I'm sure your knowledgeable on history, we both know what happens."

"Again, what is the point your tying to make?" I asked as I tilted my head. "Are you trying to rile me up or something? Or trying to make me leave my friend?"

He stops as soon as I said that. Shit, I gave off a certain piece of information, that little 'friend' bit can be used against me.

"So that's it, heh," He snickers as he tilted his head. "I thought Jason was joking about the C rank thing. Even with Midori vouching for you, I thought something was missing..."

Huh?

"Midori vouching for me...something missing...what are you talking about?" I asked, confused by his words.

"Heh, I heard what I wanted to hear..." He says as he crossed his arms. "Say Leon, how skilled are you with a sword?"

Other than complete shit...

"Planning on teaching me?" I joked as I gripped Robin's blade. "Sorry but that position is taken..."

"So Marth is teaching you..."

...Had to open my mouth, dammit I still don't know what he wants from me.

"Well than, I guess 'he' wouldn't mind if I help out a little bit."

Wait, what!?

Jon slowly drew his sword, giving me full view of the steel blade. It actually looked a bit shorter than Jason's sword...that's a bit interesting.

"So how about a few rounds?" He offers as he points the end of the blade at me. "It's been awhile since I offered anyone a sparing session..."

Why does it feel like he's bullshitting the last part?

"Um, I don't have a choice do I?" I say as my hand slowly landed on the hilt of the tactician's blade.

"No..." He merely said as he moved into a defensive like stance. "Unless you have another idea to kill time."

Have no idea what's going here, nor how it progressed to this...but I guess he's right. I'm probably just going to sit in front of the gate and get all mopey/bitchy about being weak. Which I really am...

Slowly I pull out the sword from it's sheath then twirled it to feel it's weight. Robin's bronze sword is a bit heavier then Lucina's rapier, it'll feel a bit off when I swing it. Going to have to adjust some of my move set, though I doubt he'll take me seriously.

"Let's just get this over with..." I mutter as I drop the sheath, then take a random stance. My ass is bound to be kicked anyway, might as well be now.

The swordsman smirked as he patiently waited for me.

I quickly charge at him, the bronze sword pointed straight at him.

Jon takes a step back then blocks my strike. He pushes me then slashes at me, I quickly blocked it then jumped back.

He's good enough to block an amateur like me, though anyone can probably do that. Plus his strike was strong but he definitely held back. Probably didn't want to cut me, okay...I can use that.

I take a step back as I reverse gripped the blade. The extra weight felt a little off but I ignored it.

The swordsman rose an eyebrow but he didn't move.

I let out a breath as I charged forward once again, expect this time I stop and slashed at his side.

He jumps back and thrusts his blade at me. Barely giving me a chance to dodge.

"Not bad..." He says as he lowered his sword. "You adjusted your style as soon as you saw your first attack fail. Changing it to try to land a hit, smart."

"I'm sensing a 'but' in there." I slowly say, not taking my eyes off of him.

"Your speed and defense is complete and utter crap." He sighs as he narrowed his eyes. "If I wasn't holding back my strike, it would've knocked you down."

Figures...

"I've seen worse, much worse..." The swordsman says as he shrugged. "You have a chance to learn and improve. Possibly to the point of a decent swordsman...possibly."

"Really? And here I thought I was stuck being a low level Donnel..." I muttered as I rolled my eyes. "No wait...that's an insult to Donnel, I'm probably much worse...much worse."

"...Not sure how I should respond to that," Jon said as he twirled his sword. "Anyway, I think I can help you learn a few things. Whatever Marth has been teaching you, it's barely the basics."

Um, isn't that how everything is learned?

"Why are you helping me anyway?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. "No bullshit, just honest truth."

The swordsman rose an eyebrow then sighed.

"In honesty...whether or not you're a complete stranger," He slowly says. "You still are someone from our home and like the rest of us...you were forced into these lands with little regard of your desires. Let's just say that I was like you once, expect I didn't have the chance to get help until later..."

What does he mean by that? That barely gives me a reason...

"...Like I said last time, I'll give you a proper explanation in Ylisse." He says, dodging any chance for explaining. "Until then you'll have to wait, sorry but it's a cautious step that's taken."

"You don't want anything unwanted to be heard," I guessed. "...Annoying...but understandable..." But still really annoying...

Jon nodded as he let out a smirk.

"Well then, shall we continue?"

I merely nodded as I twirled the bronze sword.

"By the way," The swordsman says as he moved into a defensive stance. "I saw you pull 'Marth' aside and whisper something. You mind saying what it was?"

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance, he saw that...fine I'll be honest...there doesn't seem to be any harm in it.

"I just asked Lu-Marth to be careful," I say truthfully, before going into a random stance. "That's pretty much it..." Since I made her my friend...nothing more, nothing less.

* * *

"So Robin, remind me on how are we supposed to find this thing?" Midori asks, mostly out of sheer boredom. Since it has been some time since they left the outpost, and so far they've haven't heard a thing. She honestly thought the thing will try to attack as soon as they stepped out.

"In honest truth...I don't really know." The tactician said as she kneels down, presumably looking for any kind of track. "Somehow, there's little sign of anything large in this area. Plus there's no sound of Risen, that's also a bit strange..."

She slowly got up and looked the time traveler. "Marth, did that Risen Bear leave any kind of trace? Other then the smell that's still currently around..."

"...No." The princess shook her head. "There was little sign of it...perhaps this...Risen Wolf, engaged other Risen?"

"That could be it," Midori says as she adjusted her glasses. "There were a bunch we took down before we...saw that thing. Maybe it's finishing off what's left? Hopefully it got killed while doing it..."

"If that were true...then there wouldn't be a smell." That statement came from Lon'qu, who was trying to keep his distance but stay close to the group.

Which is probably difficult, as Midori would've have guessed. Though ironically he's kinda get's close to Lucina, not shoulder to shoulder but more within arm length. Which is making the scythe user tempted to say that the masked 'boy', is a bit more feminine than 'he' looks.

"Well thanks for crushing my hopes, potato peeler" She sarcastically replies as she crossed her arms. "Seriously though, how are we supposed to find this thing? It's not like we can track it by smell...unless one of us is secretly a Neko."

"Don't know what that is...but that does give me an idea." Robin says as she crossed her arms. "If we trying to find it, why not let it find us first?"

"Like sitting in one spot and wait for it come after us?" Midori asks as she tilted her head. "That may not be good idea, since I did that with a few friends when we were hunting wolves. Damn, those things were annoying...and clever."

"What do you mean-"

"_**AWOOO!**_" A familiar howl interrupts whatever the tactician was going to ask.

Everyone looked at each other before moving in the direction of the howl.

After a few minutes of running through the forest, the group stops at the sight of the Risen Wolf, which was attacking another of it's kind.

The scythe user narrowed her eyes as she watched the wolf chump it's jaws into the sides of a human like Risen. The undead creature groaned in something resembling pain before it crumbled inside the wolf's jaws.

"_**Awoo!**_" The Risen Wolf howled as purple smoke escaped from it's mouth. It slowly dipped it's head down before looking around, then setting it's sight on them. Though something was off...the undead animal was staring directly at them with it's purple eyes, but it didn't appear to be reacting at all. It just stood there sniffing and it's ears were moving around.

Midori's hand twitched as she just stared back at the thing. She wanted nothing more than to take out her scythe and chop that thing's head off! But the only thing that's keeping her is the fact that Robin and the others are with her. She knows if she does anything drastic and on emotion then...they'll pay for it.

She doesn't want any of them to die because of her.

'Dammit this thing is just pissing me off,' She thought as she gritted her teeth. 'Why hasn't Robin said anything?'

Quietly the battlemage looked in the direction the tactician was, then widened her eyes in shock.

Robin's hands were shaking as sweat was visibly dripping off her face. Her violet eyes were practically screaming an all too familiar emotion...fear. The white haired tactician looked deathly afraid by what was in front of her.

'What...the hell?' Midori thought as shock was still present. "Robin what's-"

"_**Awoo!**_" The wolf howled as it crouched and charged straight at them.

"Shit, scatter!" She yelled as she moved to jump out of the way. Then she noticed something...the tactician wasn't moving! She looked completely paralyzed in fear!

The battlemage mentally cursed as she made a split second decision, she rushes towards Robin. Grabbing her as she quickly casted a large burst of mana, creating a sudden burst in momentum to move them away from the wolf's path.

'This is gonna hurt,' The scythe user quickly thought as she and the tactician landed against a tree. Rather painfully she might add...

'Fuck!' She mentally sweared as she lifted up the white haired woman. 'It had to just suddenly attack when I said something...'

"You alright Robin?" She asks as she looked at the tactician. "...Robin?"

"How can it be so familiar?" She hears her whisper, fear evident in her voice. "How can I possibly know those eyes!?"

Midori was about to question her when the wolf howled again. It had stopped in it's tracks as it's head was slowly turning towards them.

"Crap..." The battlemage curses as the undead animal began to crouch down again. "We have to move!"

The wolf was close to them it was about bare it's fangs on them when something fast and blue hit it's side. Causing the wolf to fall on it's side, the blue thing that collided with landed a short distance away. It was none other than the time traveling child. She appeared to be out of breathe as she kept her holy blade pointed at the undead animal.

"Move!" The princess yelled as she jumps away from the Risen animal as it slowly got back up.

The scythe user quickly forced Robin on her feet and dragged her behind a tree.

"Robin, what the hell is with you!?" She nearly yelled as she grabs the tactician's shoulders.

"I...I..." The violet eyed woman blinked before violently shaking her head. "I'm sorry...I don't know what came over me...that thing's eyes. There're making me freeze up, can't even think straight when they...I don't know what's happening to me."

'That's what's wrong with her, what the hell!?' Midori thought as her eyes widened. 'Well, if just looking at the damn thing's eyes is what bothering her. We'll have to make sure she can't see them...'

"Do you think you can fight without looking looking at it's eyes?" She whispered to her, her expression serious. "Cause I could just draw it's attention...while you strike from-."

The wolf howls again, making the battlemage look in it's direction.

She sees the princess and Lon'qu dodging the wolf attacks, doing their best to keep their distance. She knew they don't have much time and can keep it up for so long.

"Midori...while it was staring at us...did you see anything strange?" The tactician's quiet voice was barely heard.

"Huh?" The scythe user looked back, then finally registered the question. "Oh...it was just looking at us, as well as sniffing and it's ears were moving around. Did you figure something out?"

The tactician sighed as she rested her head in her hands.

"Since I'm not looking at thing, I'm starting to feel a bit better. Maybe it was psychological..." She slowly says then clicks her tongue. "I have an idea, but I have to quickly test it. Please try to stay quiet until I'm done."

Before Midori can even ask what she meant, the violet eyed woman rummaged through her robes until she brought out her tome.

Robin opened it and filled her hand with magical electricity. Then casted it towards a tree that was a bit far from them. The spell made contact and the tree explode into a shower of electricity. The resulting explosion caused an echo to be heard throughout the forest.

"Look at the wolf," The tactician instructs, her eyes were closed. "Is it facing the tree?"

The scythe user silently obeyed as she inched her head to get a clear looked.

Lon'qu and Lucina were standing still as they were in defensive stances, in front of them was the Risen wolf...

"It is...why-"

"Speak in a low voice," Robin instructs, her voice was low. "Tell me, are it's ears moving in the direction of the tree?"

Midori narrowed her eyes as she focused on the specified part of the body. "...They are...you mean to say that's it's..."

"Focused on the sounds around it..." The tactician finishes, her eyes slowly opening. "Now that my mind is clear, I remember it just looking at us. It seemed to be trying to sniff out our scent, but it only showed a reaction as soon as you said something."

"That's true..." She whispered as the fresh memory came back. "As soon as I opened my mouth...it attacked. Plus..."

"It's not attacking Lon'qu and Marth," Robin states as a small smile appeared on her lips. "That can be used to our advantage, but I need to tell them."

"I think I can help with that," The battlemage quickly says as she slowly unstraps her gauntlets. "Hold on to these till I get back kay?"

"Wha-" Before the tactician could even respond, she shoves her gauntlets at her before unstrapping her scythe. Letting it fall on the ground as she dashed from the spot.

'Don't need the extra weight to slow me down,' She thought as she drew as much mana as quickly as possible. 'Just have to keep it's attention, I'm good at doing that.'

"Marth! Lon'qu! Get to Robin, don't question me just do it!" The scythe user yelled as her hands were covered in green air. "I'll take on this son of a bitch!"

The wolf quickly turned in the direction of her voice, it slowly growled as it began to crouch down. The princess and the Feroxian swordsman jumped back while raising their swords.

'Have to keep it on me, too bad there's no music. Would have been nice...' She thought as she cracked her air covered knuckles, before going to a defensive stance. "Come on, try to bite me!"

The undead animal growled before it charged straight at her, ignoring the two warriors adjacent to it.

Midori merely smirked as the distance between them was closing. Then right when it was about to pounce, she jumps and releases a burst of mana. The kinetic energy released from her hands launches the scythe user a short distance away from the wolf.

The Risen wolf landed on nothing but earth as it bit nothing but air.

"Missed me..." She taunted as she lands on her feet. "Come on, I'm sure you can do better than that!"

The undead animal growled as it turned to face her, bearing it's dagger like fangs.

"Oh, you're angry..." She slowly says as she prepped another spell. "Good, cause you're gonna pay for hurting Chrom and Frederick..."

She smirks as she jumps and releases another burst of mana, making the wolf miss her for a second time.

'Okay I can do this for a couple more times,' The battlemage thought as she lands on her feet. 'After that...the risk of running low on mana will increase, and that's not good especially for me...and others of my origins.'

"Midori get back!" The voice of the tactician brings her back from her thoughts. In time to see a thunderbolt heading straight for the wolf.

Midori jumped back right when the thunderbolt struck the wolf's back, causing it to stagger in pain.

The wolf growled as it turned to face it's attacker, only for it to have two sword wielders come in from the sides and strike it's legs. A sound that was similar to pain escaped it's mouth as it tried fend off it's attackers.

Lucina and Lon'qu were able to dodge it's strikes, then in near perfect sync they slash at the legs once more.

"Midori, strike it's head!" The battlemage hears the tactician instruct as the two sword wielders jump away from the wolf.

"Got it!" She responds as she quickly casted a blade of wind. Like before...the spell made contact with the undead creature. Only that this time, it caused the Risen animal to fall on it's side.

'And unlike last time, there's more mana in my spell.' She thought as let out a sigh.

The Risen wolf struggled to get back on it's feet, but when it did it slowly crouched down while lowering it's head.

'Oh crap, I think it's about to howl,' Midori thought as she prepared to cover her ears.

"Oh no you don't!" She heard the tactician yell as another thunderbolt comes in and hits the back of the wolf.

"Ragh!" The undead creature grunts in something resembling pain as it flinched.

"Marth, Lon'qu...now! Strike it's neck!"

Right at the last part, the princess and the Feroxian swordsman move in. Lon'qu stabbed the lower part of it's neck, he let go of his blade and jumped back when the Risen wolf tried to bite at him. Lucina stabbed from the other side then slashed upward causing the wolf to violently flinch.

Lon'qu quickly dashed in and retrieved his sword, he slashes at the neck once more. Then jumps back when it tried to hit him with one of it's paws.

'I should probably help,' Midori thought as she slowly willed a steady amount of mana. "Marth, Lon'qu get back!"

The two sword wielders didn't question, they took one look and then jumped away.

The undead animal slowly brought itself up and looked in the direction of the battlemage. Her eyes were closed as the amount of gathering mana was growing.

'Just a little more,' She thought as she increased the amount. 'Need to get in one good strike...need...to finish this...'

Slowly, green air started to circle around her as she increased the amount gathering again. The air danced a little before it settled on her around her arms. Something warm and wet started to trickle down Midori's nose, she knew what it was but chose to ignore it and press on. She understood the risks of what she was doing...

"This...is for Frederick...you son of a bitch..." She says as she slowly opened her eyes, then held out her arms. "Lace...Ribbon!"

She casted a large blade of wind, aiming it directly at the wolf's head. The undead creature didn't have time to move as the blade made contact. It's head in a near instant, was split in half as it separated from it's body. The blade of wind continued on until it hit a tree, then dispersed as a chunk of the tree fell down.

"Heh," Midori chuckled weakly as she watched the remains of the wolf crumble into purple smoke. "That was...satisfying..."

She violently coughed into her hands as she fell to her knees. Blood steadily trickled down her nose and mouth, she wasn't the least surprised by it, she knew this would happen.

'It's what I get for using too much mana,' She thought as she coughed again, letting out more blood. 'Jon and Jason are going to be pissed...'

"Midori!"

The battlemage looks up to see the tactician and the princess rushing towards her.

"Hang on," Robin says as she crouched down in front of her. She rummaged through her robes but stopped when Midori grabbed her arm.

"No need...for that..." She said weakly, wiping the blood from her nose with her free hand. "I just...need a few minutes...I'll be fine."

"Fine!? Your bleeding from your nose and coughing up blood!" The tactician nearly yelled as she removed Midori's hand and took out a small bottle. "Drink this, now."

The battlemage didn't even try to argue, it was clear that the violet eyed woman wasn't gonna have any of it. Slowly she took the bottle, uncorked it and drank down it's contents.

'Not going to tell her that it's not gonna help,' She thought as she finished drinking it. 'At best it's only going to lessen the eventual migraine I'm going to feel. Gods, I hate it when this happens...why does Mana Exhaustion have to be such a pain?'

She faked a breath a relief as she handed Robin back the bottle. "Thanks..."

The tactician nodded as she turned to look at the princess. "Marth, are you injured?"

The princess shook her head as she kept her sight on both of them. Her head was tilted, she seem a bit...confused by what was in front of her. It was obvious that she was curious about why the battlemage suddenly started to cough up blood.

The white haired woman didn't seem to notice, she looked in another direction. "What about you Lon'qu?"

There was a near silent grunt in response to her question. It seemed the swordsman was okay...

"Alright, we'll rest for a few minutes before we head back." The tactician said as she sighed, before sitting down.

Midori only giggled as she laid back on the ground and stared up at the sky. The sun was glistening through the trees, and the rancid stench of dead flesh was slowly going away.

'Despite all the crap that's happened...' She thought as she took a deep breath. 'It was a nice day...now I have to start to come up with a plan to see Frederick...without that armor...and maybe the suit as well.'

Her companions must have been looking at her strangely, as she was letting out a series of giggles. As well as her nose was starting to bleed...again. Though the reason did not have to do with her condition...

* * *

The man was clutching his head as he did his best to keep his balance.

He had regain conscious a little while ago, but he was suffering from a migraine as he tried to stand up. Thankfully he was able to move without feeling too much pain, as well as the fact that he left his mount nearby.

The man coughed into his hand as he held the reins of his mount, there was a small amount blood that escaped his mouth. An improvement since he slowly felt his strength start to return.

'I should be fine after a few days of rest.' He thought as he closed his fist. 'Likely the same thing with the Shepherds, since the smell of Risen is starting to go away.'

It is likely that they were able to eliminate his 'guest', but possibly because of the advantage he help give them. Before he became unconscious, he was able to use a spell that rendered the wolf's sense of sight and smell useless. Originally he intended to use the spell in case he lost control of it like he did with the bear.

Now though, like the bear, his work has been rendered to nothing. To be clear though, he wasn't angry, he was more...disappointed. As it would have been...educational to see how they managed to defeat it...but alas he had struck misfortune.

'But that is of no matter,' He thought to himself as he let out a grin. 'I know now that they can learn to fight unexpected enemies. Which will be beneficial for them in the future, especially _that_ particular night in the Exalt's castle.'

'Hopefully by then, they'll be strong enough to face a certain _father_,' He thought as a certain memory surfaced making he gripped the reigns tightly. 'There I'll reveal as much as necessary, after all...they and I have something in common.'

But before he can even consider that, he needed to improve his abilities. The bear and the wolf were the mere potential of what he can do. Though he shouldn't limit himself to such tricks, he needed to be strong enough to stand on _his_ own terms.

The man smirked as a plan came to fruition, he'll...step aside for now, just until the time is right. Before that, he'll have to find ways to improve and adapt his talents.

* * *

**A/N: Man that took forever to do...had so much work to do and other things.**

**Anyway, wouldn't mind an opinion on the fight scene with the Risen Wolf. I had to rewrite that so many times, since I made the characters too strong or too weak. Same for the wolf...I'm really not that experienced when it comes to fight scenes. If you hadn't guessed already...**

**So as usual, read, review, or ind a much better fic to read. Though if your somehow still reading this after fourteen chapters, then I must be doing something to keep your attention.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**King Keith: Yeah, it's a bit difficult to try to work on college assignments while you constantly get ideas for your fic. Though I exaggerate a little bit on that...**

**Yeah, sorry about that...if you hadn't guessed already, or looked in my profile. This is my first fic...I've never written anything like this before, so of course I'll have a bit of trouble on that. But your right, practice does make perfect...and I have a lot of practicing to do.**

**Thankfully there are limits or else that guy would have been really over powered.**

**That's to be expected since she's spent more time with Leon than the others. Even if it was for a short while, true that she does an amount of trusting issues. Like in the supports between her and female Robin, if Robin is not her mother than the princess suspects her of trying to steal Chrom away. Despite evidence to the contrary...**

**For me, opening up to others does not necessarily mean that it wouldn't be beneficial for her mission. To me, it could be the opposite, some people tend to fight harder when they know what they are fighting for. It's no different for the princess, sure she wants to save her family and the world.**

**But wouldn't it make her stronger if she knew what exactly in the world she was saving? Other than her family? Sorry, but couldn't help speak my mind on that part...**

**Robin does have it tough, she carries the lives of the Shepherds, people that took her in...and slowly became friends with...it would be hard for anyone in that circumstance. Though I'm sure there are plenty of fics out there that do it much better than I did. I tried to make it seem subtle...**

**Can't wait to show off the other Outrealmers/Outerrealmers, either one works, I really enjoyed crafting each one.**

**Also, that's one the worst thing I've ever heard, and you have my sympathy. Though now I'm sure Yuno will start chasing me with a chainsaw now...*Shivers* I can just hear the noise now...**

**RoseWarden: Glad you loved that, also nice pick up on the Jon and Robin's conversation...really nice pick up. Though I can't say anything more...**

**And now you made remember all the times I played those games, and how I was ALWAYS low on ammo when ever those things show up. I was a bit of a terrible shot in the games...but that was so long ago. Still, can't wait for things to reveal themselves...though that would take time.**

**Midori...is Midori...her reaction however was interesting. Though I just thought of a funny image of Midori holding a baby, that has Frederick's hair color and her eyes. Meh, we'll see how it goes...not confirming or denying anything...**

**True, this Robin's eyes are different from canon, again we'll see how that goes. **


	16. Chapter 16

**As possibly expected, there are shifts in views, though that may change in future chapters.**

**So enough with the delay and on with the chapter...**

* * *

_**Shink!**_

"Not bad, but try to aim a bit higher..."

_**Shink!**_

"I said higher, that's the same spot..."

_**Shink!**_

"...Your arms are tired aren't they?"

You know, I suddenly prefer having Lucina train me then this guy. At least she's quiet when she 'corrects' me...even if I end up annoying her...

"S-shut...up." I say as I let out a tired breath. "I'm not used to this..."

Jon sighed as he lowered his sword, "Alright let's take a short break."

I merely nodded as I let myself collapse onto the ground. It's been...I don't know...some 'my ass getting kicked' minutes or something. The swordsman and I have been sparing, by sparing I mean him not even moving an _inch_, while I try to slash at him.

I guess he and Jason are related since that asshole kept blocking everything I tried. Okay not _everything,_ just what I thought on the spot. Which includes throwing Robin's bronze sword at his face out of frustration. He was able flick the thing away in one swipe and just give me the 'did you really just try that?' stare.

In case you're wondering why I would pull a dick move like that...it's because I'm still a little worried. Yes, I'm still worried about Lucina, Robin, Midori and Lon'qu. Much more now since we heard the wolf howl in the distance which was followed by some sort of explosion.

An _explosion_...did Midori or Robin had a pack of dynamite in their pockets or something? Cause there's smoke rising from the tree lines, which makes it easy to see from here. Still...whatever the cause, the smell of decayed flesh has started to go away. Little by little, but it's making me worry...they should've been back by now. Maybe one of them got injured, or something else happened, maybe they were forced to fight the Risen Wolf with other Risen around it!

That would probably make things much worse...maybe-

"I said take a break, not look like your having a panic attack." The swordsman words broke me from my thoughts. "You alright?"

"I'm fine..." I say a bit too quickly, "Just...thinking."

He stares at me but decides to not say anything. Likely cause he already knows...don't have to be perceptive to know what I'm feeling.

"Like I said before..." He starts to say, "You have some potential, but you really need to improve on somethings."

"Oh, really? Tell me something I don't know..."

"Well for starters, you put too much into your strikes." He lists off, "Good for power, but you make it too easy to see. Your defense barely exists, though I guess 'Marth' was trying to help you with that. Still, your posture leaves you vulnerable to counters, I could've easily knocked you down in a few swings."

My mouth dropped at the last part, he managed to see all of that in a short time? Also I was being sarcastic, what the hell!?

"So I really am shitty," I sighed as I rubbed my head. "Great, so compared to me how long have you've used a sword?"

"...You really want to know?"

I nodded as I just stared at him.

"Let's just say it's years worth..." He says causally before shrugging. "I'm still learning from it like you though...I doubt I'll even come close to Sir Chrom."

Well there goes a chance to figure out how long he's been here, though he mentioned years...maybe as long as Jason?

"...Is it true that he's able to make a hole in the wall? With just his sword?" I asked randomly.

"Yeah...it happened once when we were sparing against each other." Jon explains as he let out a smirk. "We took it a bit far, mostly because I wanted to see how I was against him. Heh, the scolding we got from Lissa..."

"That's...interesting." I mutter out loud. "I bet he was embarrassed..."

"Yeah, but not as much as he was when you almost made him sterile."

I coughed as my face began to heat up in...shame, embarrassment, guilt? Take your pick...

"W-well I-I...it...wasn't..." I struggled to say as I was trying to come up with a reason as to why my foot met the prince's royal jewels. There wasn't any...

"Oh relax...I'm not Frederick," The swordsman said as he chuckled. "Besides I'm not one you should be apologizing to. That's reserved for Sir Chrom..."

"R-right," I nervously say as I let out a sigh in relief. "But do you think he'll actually forgive me? Cause...you know..."

Not like I can pay a certain jersey/track-suit wearing minor god named Yato five yen or gold in this case to help with that. Why couldn't it be that world...or another where everything is decided by games? Damn my shitty luck...

Jon tilted his head before sighing, "I may have recently joined the Shepherds, before Robin joined us in case your wondering."

"Still, in at that time, I've been able to interact with Sir Chrom," He slowly says as he crossed his arms. "And what I can say is-"

"Jon, for the love of gods open the gate before I pass out from this gods dammed MIGRAINE!" A very familiar voice yells from the other side of the gate. Isn't that...

"Hurry up! Fuck my head hurts!" Midori yells/complains, from the other side of the gate. Wow, she's really loud...

"Well she's certainly in a nice mood..." Jon mutters as he moved towards the gate. "Leon, I need your help with this."

"Alright," I merely say as I got up to help.

* * *

"Finally," Midori muttered as she rubbed her head. "Before I eventually pass out, Jon remind me that I need to talk to you later."

"Okay," The swordsman could only say. "Talk to you later then."

The scythe user simply passed by him and all he could do was sigh in annoyance.

Since it was clear on what was wrong with her, a migraine as well as a bloody nose. He supposed that she got past the initial part, which is coughing up blood over a certain period of time, but then the migraine and nose bleeds start to kick in.

Mana Exhaustion...it happens whenever one of their kind over exerts their reserves of mana. Because of that, there are...certain side effects, thankfully so far none that are lethal, despite the loss of blood. Thankfully, it is temporary and passes over time. Though the exact length it takes vary...but he wasn't worried since he knew that she'll be fine within a day or so. Though he was a bit upset that she in this state, she went through it despite what every one of their magic users had agreed to. Still that is for another time...

"So how did it go?" He asked Robin as she stopped right next him.

The tactician didn't say anything as she watched Marth and Lon'qu pass by. The princess stopped and sat next to Leon, who was sitting down and writing something in a journal which was interesting enough. The scythe user went to find a spot to rest, no doubt cause her migraine. The feroxian swordsman just went to a random corner and seemed like he didn't want to be bothered.

"It went fine," The snow colored hair tactician said after releasing a sigh. "Somehow we were able to pull through, though I am a bit worried about Midori."

"Cause of her having nosebleeds?" He asks despite knowing the answer anyway. "That is a bit strange..."

"It's not just that, earlier she was coughing up _blood._" She says as she looks at him. "And now she suddenly has a migraine, either she has some sort of condition or something else is wrong with her. It's just...strange how causal she was about it."

'If only you knew,' He thought as he mentally sighed. 'Then you'd probably just scolded her for being foolish...like I'm going to do.'

"If she isn't too concerned about it, then it may not be anything threatening to her life." He reasoned.

The tactician shook her head as she narrowed her eyes. "Something doesn't seem right, she's a mage that's somehow capable of using magic _without_ a tome. Which Miriel had told me it should be _impossible_ to actually do."

Robin sighed again as she crossed her arms, "She wanted to talk to you about something right? Maybe you can try to gain some answers from her during that time? Since the time she's been with us, you have talked to her on a few occasions. Though you would have to be casual about it...unless..."

Jon tuned her out as he did his best to not laugh at the irony in all this. While it is true that answers do have to be given...but that will have to come later. _After _he manages to convince the prince to recruit a few of the others in Ylisse...

'But we have to create a 'chance' meeting...at least for a couple of them.' He thought as an idea came to mind. 'Maybe in Donnel's home village, if I can nudge Robin to think of patrolling that area. Shouldn't be too hard...though which one should be recruited? Suki's not ready for combat due to her role, so that leaves-'

"...But in the end that is up to you. Jon?" The tactician's voice brings him back. "...Jon?"

"Hm? Oh? I'll do my best." He says as he rubbed his neck. "Still, think we should signal the others that we're alright?"

Robin nodded as she rummaged through her robes, "I'll do that now..."

'Then I'll check in on Chrom and Frederick,' The swordsman thought. 'Hope they wake up soon...'

* * *

_So I was worried over nothing...that's good to know._

_Still, this Risen wolf is pretty bad, sure it's dead as confirmed by Lucina herself. But still, this happened again...by description it's like the Risen Bear, though thankfully I never saw it myself. What caused this thing to exist? _

_Something tells me this wasn't by chance, cause this thing showed up when the Shepherds and the princess and I were traveling south. Not a coincidence, and I doubt that asshole fell dragon had anything to do with this._

_Is it because of us? The Outer Realmers/Outrealmers whatever we're called, is it because we're interfering with this world? But if it's the butterfly effect than there should be more than just two Risen animals. Plus Lucina still existed despite being known...unless this is __beginning..._

_Maybe I'm over thinking this, maybe I'm missing something. There has to be answers..._

I sighed as put away the journal, "So Marth, you plan on making us leave anytime soon?"

"...What to do you mean?" She whispers, thankfully in her natural voice.

"I'm sure both of us didn't expect to have this encounter." I shrugged. "Plus we took the less traveled route. What ever the real reason behind it I won't ask, but I bet that you don't want to over stay your welcome."

True that the Lucina in the game never stayed longer than she deemed necessary. And as much as I want her to stay with them, I doubt I can convince her. At least right now, maybe later when I possibly gain more of her trust. Though I doubt I'll get her to trust me to the point where she tells me the truth. Maybe if I can pull a 'figured it out' type method...but that's for later.

"It's your choice..." I finally say as I scatter those thoughts away. "And I'll trust in whatever you choose..."

The princess stared silently at me, then looked at something else.

I mentally sigh as I looked up at the sky, there was some clouds here and there. Still, I'm bored enough to consider singing something random. Despite the risks of the person next to me getting upset. But it's impossible for her to know every song I know right?

She didn't show any reaction to a couple I had done...only to the Grand Fonic Hymn. I have to figure out what she exactly knows, cause I'm going to be bored as hell!

Really need to distract myself right now...maybe if I return the sword.

I sighed as I stood up and stretched myself, "Well, I'll go return Robin's sword so...let me know if we're leaving, okay?"

The princess stared at me before nodding me off as I slowly walk away. She better not ditch me when no one's looking...even though I really doubt she will. Since Chrom is here...she wouldn't want me to be near him just yet, right? Meh, that's just my opinion...

A few minutes later I reach the top of the tower with the tactician's bronze sword in hand.

Robin was staring at the back of her right hand, showing off a familiar mark. Grima's mark...this is the first time I'm actually seeing it...since she has been wearing gloves...but why is she looking at it now? Maybe I should go...maybe I should come back-

"It's rude to stare you know." The violet eyed woman says as she looked at me. She lowers her hand and hid it in her robes.

"Um...sorry." I nervously say. "I...wanted to give this back to you..."

"Oh? Thanks..." She says as I handed the bronze sword back to her. "Um...why does it have some dirt on it?"

I blushed as I rubbed my head, "Um...I did kinda...drop it...sorry."

The tactician rose an eyebrow before letting a small laugh.

"I was joking when I said not to drop it." She says as she straps it in her robes. "And you somehow did, may I ask why?"

That sounded more as a demand then a request.

"Jon...offered to spar to pass the time." I answered truthfully.

"He did didn't he?" She mutters as she crossed her arms. "Then, I'll talk to him about that later..."

"Um...if your mad at him or something..." I start to say. "In his defense, he did check up on the prince and knight when we took brakes."

The swordsman did do that, even though he didn't seemed to break a sweat. Seriously, is everyone here really that stronger than me? I really must be out of shape...that not like I had a shape to begin with...

"I'm not mad I was just planning to discuss something," She say as she tilted her head. "Which reminds me, since it is now relatively safe. How about we follow up on our earlier conversation?"

Oh...fuck...I'm screwed...

"Not that I don't want to talk about my homeland," I nervously start, have to keep calm. "But why ask me now, why not ask another time?"

"Somehow, I believe I won't be able to," She says as she slowly approaches me. "As it would be possible for you and Marth to suddenly leave without a word. It seems to be a habit."

Well, shit she has me there...also her getting close to me is making me a bit uncomfortable. Since it's making me look at her eyes...can't help but admit they're...beautiful. Dammit.

Finally after a silent minute of her staring at me, which felt much longer than that, I let out a sigh. Alright have to be careful...just mix the lies with some truth. Like what you did with the princess, but a little more detail.

"I'm from a set of far away islands," I slowly say, not breaking eye contact with her. "Ruled under a single banner, it's called the United Isles of Amerisa...or U.I.A for short...I wouldn't be surprised if anyone around here has never heard of it."

"And why is that?"

I sighed and crossed my arms, "Over there...we take the idea of isolationism very seriously...we try to...cut ourselves off from the rest of world."

The tactician rose an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Okay, time to spice it up a little...keep it simple yet true.

"Though not entirely so...as I'm somehow here." I added before sighing again. "Heh, like me there are a few that dare to travel to the mainlands, mostly to see exotic lands, different cultures and people. Though not all make it back..."

"Why is that?" She asks, narrowing her eyes.

"Some chose to stay, some go missing or disappeared into the scattering winds?" I shrugged. "I can't say, I only heard tales anyway...something about a curse...so what about you? Where are you from?"

Robin's eyes widened before she took a step back.

Why is she...oh, fuck! Her memory loss...I COMPLETELY forgot about it! I had to open my mouth...damn have to say something...anything.

"What's wrong? You forgot or something?" I ask then immediately regretted it. Oh for the love of...WHY the hell would you say that!? Great, now you're a complete asshole, way to go dumbass! I really should hit myself for that later...dumbass.

"Um...you are not wrong on that..." The violet eyed woman said as she let out a small chuckle. "I kinda did lose most of my memories..."

"Seriously?" I rose an eyebrow. "Damn...sorry for bringing that up..."

"It's alright," She says as she rubbed her neck. "You couldn't have known..."

Right...I _couldn't_ have...I'm really such an asshole...at least change the subject then go.

"So yeah," I nervously say, fiddling with my hands a little. "Um...nice weather?"

I'm so pathetic...

* * *

Jon found it difficult to contain his laughter. He had checked on the prince and the great knight, and as expected they were still asleep. Midori had found herself another empty bed to rest on, it wasn't long before the raven haired battlemage fell asleep.

While he did consider it difficult to actually do, she somehow managed to do it. Possibly because of that stubborn streak she has...it wouldn't be surprising in the least. Though till now he didn't notice she didn't have her scythe nor her gauntlets.

So out of curiosity, the swordsman decided to find the tactician to see if she knew where they were at. Undoubtedly he expected that they'll be resting for the night, at least until Chrom and Frederick wake up. Though on the way up to the tower, he heard the tactician talking with someone.

That someone being the self-proclaimed tactician, Leon, so out of mild curiosity he decided to listen in. Rude as it was...he couldn't help himself. He only managed to listen in about young man explaining the land he was from. Then nearly laughed at the details he had heard.

'A group of islands under a single banner?' He thought as he let out a small smirk. '...U.I.A, very obvious to what he's referring to, been so long since something reminded me of that. Still, he's obviously established a cover story for his origins, been meaning to do it for the rest of us.'

'Might as well use his,' He thought as he formed an idea. 'But that's for another time.'

"Mind if I interrupt?" The swordsman asks as he made himself known to the two of them.

"Hm, Jon...what is it?" The tactician asked as he stop next to Leon.

"Sir Chrom and Frederick are still out, as you might expect." He said as he crossed his arms. "So how about the others, they know we're alive?"

"Yes," She nodded. "Thankfully Miriel was waiting for me. I told them to check two forts on their side before joining us."

"Wait, why?" Leon asks, sounding surprised by that.

"Just in case a Risen or two found a way to hide inside them." She explains, her face completely serious. "I know that the decayed flesh is gone, and that Risen wolf is dead but..."

"You don't want any chances," He says, slowly nodding. "That makes sense, but doesn't that also mean you'll check the one on this side?"

He points to the other outpost in the distance. "I could be wrong, but I doubt there's anything undead in there."

Jon tilted his head, "Might want to check if any local wild life has returned. That is the best indication if there are any Risen left."

"True since we've seen it happen," The tactician rested a hand on her chin. "It would be strange if that suddenly changed, though with that Risen Wolf...I don't know."

"Wait, what are you two talking about?" The self-proclaimed one asked as he looked between the two of them.

"In our travels, we faced against numerous Risen," The swordsman explains, making the young man look at him. "Though they were often small groups, but were a nuance and danger to any nearby village or traveler."

"From what we've noticed," Robin continues. "When ever there is a Risen, it's accompanied by an unmistakable odor. The more Risen there are, the stronger the odor, though I don't understand why it's like that."

"At least it warns you if their coming..." Jon heard the young man mutter, before he shivered. "So what does this have to do with the wild life? Do they stay away because of the smell?"

"Exactly," The tactician nodded. "For whatever reason, possibly instinct, any wild life even predators stay away from Risen."

"That's...interesting...so if animals are seen then the Risen are gone?"

"Pretty much," The swordsman answers before looking at Robin. "So how do you want to do this? Send one of us or two?"

"Hm, I don't like sending someone by themselves." She says as she let out a small sigh. "Plus we have to retrieve Midori and Frederick's armor and weapons. We did leave them behind after all."

"I understand Frederick, but what happen to Midori's weapon?" He asks, tilting his head a little. "Did it break?"

'Cause Suki would _not_ be happy...' He thought as he mentally shivered. 'And no one wants to see her...upset...over losing one of her precious one's weapon. Not after last time...'

The snow haired woman shook her head, "No she dropped it when she engaged the Risen wolf by herself, she was using her magic in a rather unorthodox manner."

"Oh, then why didn't she pick it back up?" He muttered out loud. 'Really need to talk to her later...'

"I offered to carry them for her, but she brushed me off and insisted that she'll do it herself later." Robin shrugged, "That woman is strange...you know that she tried to follow Frederick around when he was on guard that one night? He seemed a bit disturbed by that...I didn't know anything could do that to him. Other than...never mind."

'On second thought, I'll yell at her as soon as we arrive back home.' He thought as a familiar ting of annoyance stung him. 'Hopefully this is just a phase, and she'll _eventually_ stop bothering him. But if it isn't...then I'll have to warn Frederick...gods above help that poor man cause he's going to need it. At least she isn't eyeing Chrom, that would have been worse..._much worse_.'

"The scythe user's antics aside," Leon's voice takes the swordsman from his thoughts. "If you want, Marth and I can check out the outpost, we can also find the weapons on the way back."

"That can help immensely," The tactician nodded. "Though won't you need a weapon?"

"I'll be fine," The young man says as he rubbed the back of his head. "If there's trouble, then Marth is more than enough to handle it..."

Jon could've sworn he heard him mutter something at the end of that sentence.

"Anyway, I'll let him know first," He says as he awkwardly moved away. "Then we'll go check it out..."

The swordsman and the tactician simply stare at him as he walks away.

"Well that was certainly interesting," He says as he looked back. "So what do you think?"

"What do you mean?" She asks as she puts on her glove. The one for her right hand...

"Well I'm not the one who can somehow read people." He causally shrugs. "Which is still an interesting talent by the way."

"As I said before I can't do it with everyone I meet." Robin rolled her eyes, then smirked. "Of course you're still wondering if I can read you."

"Yes, as I'm guessing it's something that needs time." He says as lets out another shrug. "Speaking of things that need time, how's your memory?"

"...It's...still blank." The tactician admits as she rubbed the back of her right hand. "Other than my name and my skills, there's nothing to indicate anything about myself..."

'Don't want to mention that damn mark, or anything to do with her eyes. Since I know she never had those in that color...' Jon thought as he nodded his head. "I'm sure you'll figure something out. You are a rather...unique one in that aspect."

She clicked her tongue as she rolled her violet eyes. "I should go check on Chrom and Frederick."

He nodded as he simply watched her leave before looking out at the bridge.

'This is still going to be long day,' He thought as he rubbed his neck. 'Might as well get it done.'

* * *

"Hey Marth."

The princess looks up from her spot.

"What is it?" She asks.

I sighed as I rubbed my head. "Robin asked us to check out the other outpost, see if any kind of Risen is somehow in there. As well as to find and retrieve their knight's equipment and Midori's Scythe."

She merely nodded as she stood up and motioned me to follow. This is really going to be a long day isn't it?

After some time of silently traveling past the gate and through the woods, we arrive at the other outpost. Rather boring if I really want to think about it, still tempted to actually sing something. Despite the risks...really need to find out what she knows.

Anyway, this other outpost almost looks exactly the same as the other one, except there's one difference.

"Hm, the gate's is destroyed in this one..." I state the obvious as the princess slowly walked in. "Think it was natural or Risen? Or something else?"

She didn't say anything as she turned her head, scanning the place. While I just stay close to the entrance, spineless yes, but since I don't have a weapon or idea on how to defend myself without one. I'll just leave this to our resident expert...which makes me wonder how many times she's done something like this.

"It's clear," The princess's voice brings me from my thoughts. "Let's move..."

"Um, okay." I simply say as I followed after her.

Normally I would question if she's sure, but since the smell of decayed flesh is gone and the fact that it's _Lucina. One hell_ of a stubborn princess, who I say again is more of an expert in this than me. Also helps with the fact that I noticed some birds landing and flying off some trees. If Robin said was true, then the birds wouldn't be here if there was any Risen. Since animals tend to have better instincts then humans on certain things...I guess sensing undead corpses is one of those on the list.

I really must be bored to list off that entire line of reasoning...at least that CPU hasn't fallen on my head...yet. Though that actually wouldn't be too bad, cause I get the feeling that Nep-Nep will annoy the crap out of our princess. And I'll likely join in...though only for certain bits...

I wonder how-

The sense of pain fills my face at it made contact with a random tree.

"Ack! Fuck!" I swore as I held my hurting nose. It's not bleeding that's good but it still hurts.

"...Are you alright?" The princess asks as she approached me.

"I'm fine." I say as I shake my head in vain attempt to deal with the pain. "Just...got distracted. Nothing to worry about..."

She stared at me for what felt like a minute, before nodding and continuing on. Okay, try not being a Sumia and trip or hit another tree or both. Just watch where you're going!

After another sequence of boring and now painful minutes, we arrive at the spot where Robin and the others killed the Risen Wolf. At least that's what Lucina had told me when I asked.

"So should I carry the scythe?" I asked as I watch Lucina pick up the apparently dropped weapon.

The princess didn't say anything as she just stared at the thing. You know now that I've actually got a good look at it. The blade is dark and bent in a crescent angle like your typical ones but it different. A little similar but different from Dead Master's actual scythe. Since Midori's scythe blade doesn't have the jagged-ness to Dead Master's. It's wooden stock is straight and the end part that connects to the blade does curve a little but not too much.

I wonder how she actually uses it...I mean I did see her use it when she trains but those seem to be basic techniques. What about more advanced ones? Also has she ever-no I shouldn't think about _that_ right now. Even if it involves human lives...dammit I have to deal with that later. I really don't want to do that eventuality...

"Is it heavy?" I asked, doing my best to scatter those particular thoughts.

"...No, it isn't." She says as she carefully ran her fingers along the blade. While I carefully kept my distance and looked for the gauntlets.

Not gonna question why she's doing that, mostly because I'm afraid that she'll cut my head off with it. Still, why is she doing that? Did she know/know of Midori or something?

It's...possible since Jon did say that he was in the shepherds, could be the same for our green-eyed scythe user. Maybe in her timeline, our quirky raven haired woman joined in on a later date, though she was surprised when she discovered that Midori can use magic without a tome.

Something she muttered was not possible or the initial impression of. I'll ask about that later...

"And here are the gauntlets," I muttered as knelt down to pick up said equipment. "Huh, they're not as heavy as I expected."

That's a bit interesting, compared to Frederick's these ones are much lighter. Were they custom made or just some form of light armor?

I shook my head as I slowly unstrapped the knapsack I was carrying. I slowly place the gauntlets in them, careful to not crush the food I had in there. In case your wondering, yes I did spar with Jon while wearing it. Why? Cause I actually forgot about the damn thing, when you carry something for a few days. You kinda get used it...

"So," I start to say as I put the knapsack back on. "Ready to go?"

The princess merely nodded as she let the scythe rest on her shoulder.

That actually...looks pretty badass with her, how come there weren't any scythes? I'm sure Lucina or some other person would've looked awesome using them...

"By the way Marth, do you have any idea how to use that?" I asked, kinda curious to know if she knows how to. Never know if she's the next Ruby or Maka...even though she plainly uses a sword.

"No...I don't." She says as her mask covered face stares at me. "Why do you ask?"

"Just a little curious," I admitted as disappointment fills my voice. "Anyway, we should get their knight's equipment, can't just leave a job half finished."

Once again, after _another _set of boring minutes, have I mentioned how boring it is? We finally arrived at the spot where we found Frederick.

Which still has some spots covered in now dried blood. Still thankful that Lucina healed him as soon as she saw the blood. It was seeping between some of the cracks of the armor...if she hadn't...

I shook my head as I moved to get to work, don't want to think about that. Just get this done then head back, and with some luck we either stay or leave before it gets dark. That simple...

"Didn't think I'd find you two here first." Or not since my luck is complete shit. Also that's Jon's voice...

I quickly looked in the direction of the voice, only for my eyes to meet the swordsman's. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, kinda like Jason's position when he's being an asshole.

Why the hell is he here anyway!?

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be with Robin?"

The leather covered man casually shrugged. "The rest of the other Shepherds had arrived a short while when you left. As well as Sir Chrom waking up."

"He's awake?" Lucina asks a bit too quickly, in her natural voice. Wait...oh shit.

"Yes, and recovering." The swordsman answers as he slowly starts to approach us. "You do know that you just revealed your true gender just now? Even though I suspected it anyway...but I won't ask why."

Lucina just stared at him as her grip on the scythe tightened. Oh great, she's looks ready to reap something...terrible pun.

"That didn't answer my question." I say, in an attempt to change the subject. "Why are you here specifically?"

"Oh, right." He said after snapping his fingers. "I came to inform you that if you planned to leave. You should do so now."

The hell...are we being played again!?

"Why should we do that?" I asked as my eyebrow ticked in annoyance. If he's playing us, might as well play along to see where he's going with this.

"Mostly because of you," He says as he shook his head. "While you did help a little in fighting that Risen Wolf, unlike me, Robin and Chrom. I doubt the other Shepherds will be so forgiving, it may be a good idea not to out stay your welcome."

Figures...I did do that to Chrom...I really should apologize...but he's right, I don't know how the other Shepherds will react to me. Likely Sully and Vaike will punch the shit of me, small chance that Stahl will be friendly, not sure about Sumia since she has that obvious crush on the prince. Frederick will likely kill me, either by sword or brutal training regiment, not sure about Miriel and Virion. I feel like I'm forgetting someone...oh right, Kellam unsure about that one as well.

"So just leave and try not to see each other again is that it?" I bitterly asked as I crossed my arms. Didn't mean it like that...it just sucks...

"Not necessarily, just want to give it time. Since I don't want of my own people to come to harm." He explains as he let out a smirk. "Why would I abandon a fellow Amerisan?"

Wait...What!? How does he...did he listen in when I was talking with Robin!?

"You're from the same country as Leon?" Lucina asks, sounding surprised. "How?"

The swordsman rose an eyebrow, "Is our home that unknown? I actually expected some people to hear rumors of it at least."

"Yeah, but you know how home is." I shrugged, deciding to continue playing along. Let's see if he can play along with my style. "The Organization makes it difficult for anyone to leave, I had to bribe my way out of to get out of there."

"That's brave of you," He says as he let out a sigh. "I remember going through the same thing, but you remember the consequence of leaving do you not?"

What's he getting at?

"We can never return home," He continues, sounding a bit sad. "No matter if how much we want to, since the location was never given. You do understand right?"

...Never return home...does he mean-no just...deal with that later. May not even know for sure if that's what he even meant...just finish this and leave.

"I...suspected as much," I say, trying to hold my emotions back. "Right then, Marth I don't know about you but we should leave. I don't want to cause any more trouble."

The princess looked between me and the swordsman. Just agree and the drop the scythe already...we all know that you're going to do that.

"I'll take the equipment back, in case you're wondering." Jon says as he reached into his pockets? His leather armor has pockets? "And before you go..."

He tosses something at the princess, who was able catch it easily. It was a small coin purse...what is he...

"What is this?" She asks as she stared at the thing.

"Just something Jason wanted to thank you with, after all I am his brother." He shrugged. "But I believe that's enough revelations for now. Just know that inside is some gold and an address to a location in Ylisstol. Any questions you have can be answered there, provided either of you are interested."

"Anyway, you two should get going." He says. "I'll finish up and return the equipment and weapons."

I merely nodded as I look at the princess. "Marth?"

Lucina stayed silent for about a minute before finally sighing as she gently placed down the scythe. She motioned me to follow her as she turned around and started walking.

* * *

'Well that went well,' Jon thought as he watched the two leave. 'At least the princess seemed to believe us.'

He sighed as he rubbed his forehead, 'Still, I did lie a little about Chrom waking up, he did wake up then Robin forced him to stay in bed.'

The swordsman snickered as he remembered the tactician nearly yelling at the prince not to get up. Then making him drink a vulnerary for good measure, he decided to step out when she started to explain what happened. He took the opportunity to look for the two and send them on their way.

'And now I've probably peeked the princess's interest.' He smirked. 'Since I did reveal some information she didn't come to expect. Hopefully her curiosity allows her to meet the rest of us.'

'But we can't tell her what we know,' He gritted his teeth. 'As much as some of us want to...like Suki and Midori. We can't just yet, hopefully that'll happen after that particular night in the Exalt's castle. We're going to need all the help we can get.'

"Until then, just business as usual," He says out loud. "After all, I am Shepherd."

He shook his head as he finally decided to get back to work. He did offer to take them back, might as well actually do it.

* * *

_It's night time now, Lucina is slowly roasting a rabbit she was able to trap. Which is great since I didn't realize how much I was craving for one. I really do hope I don't end up eating a rabbit in front of Panne...that would be awkward as hell. She'd probably kick the crap out of me with those huge rabbit feet of her's..._

_Anyway, not much has happened since we decided to leave with out saying anything. Which kinda feels wrong since we did prove Robin right in her assumptions of us leaving. Would've been nice to say goodbye, I'm sure Lucina would want to at least see that her father was okay. Poor kid..._

_The princess has really said anything much, maybe it's because of what Jon was telling us. That or she's surprised and confused about him being from the same place as me. So it kinda ties in with the idea that she knew or knows of the swordsman. Sadly I can't prove nor disprove it right now...I have to wait._

I yawned as I put away the journal and looked up at the night sky. The stars are out, looking beautiful as always, I'm kinda curious on what the names of these constellations are. Are similar to the ones back home, or completely different? Can't help but admit that it's an incredible sight, I never could see the stars like this since I lived in a city. Television and documentaries don't really count for me since I wasn't there physically.

I gently rubbed my eyes as I looked back at the princess. Starting to get a little bored again...as annoying as that can sound. Maybe I should try something, something that could cheer the princess up and deal with my boredom. Maybe...a story or something? I guess that might work, time to test my luck. Could use the distraction anyway...

"Hey Marth," I softly say. "Can I ask you something?"

"...What is it?" The princess asks, not even sparing me a glance. Okay then, here goes...

I let out a small sigh, "I know something's really bothering you, but I won't ask what since it's your business."

"But I'm your friend, and I want to help lift your spirits a little." I continue, nervousness slowly building up. "So...um...is it alright if I tell you a story to help get your mind of it?"

The time traveler turned and tilted her head a little. Can't see anything behind that damn mask...has she ever taken it off?

"...A story? About what?" She asked sounding curious.

Yes, I got her attention...now then what should I use? Can't do anything science fiction since she may understand somethings, nothing with time travel for obvious reasons, horror is out of the question, no it has to be something pleasant.

Wait, I could go with that one...

"Well, there is this classic tale about a merchant's journey with a certain type of deity." I slowly say, "But it's not religious if your thinking that, it's more of a love story. Admittedly it's one of my favorites...it just brings a certain warmness to my heart. As strange as that may sound...anyway do you want to hear it?"

Lucina silently stared at me, before slowly nodding at me to continue. Which made me grin like a complete idiot.

Alright, have to alter some things for certain reasons, might need to skip a bit with the economics. Mostly because I don't to drag this out, as well as the fact when the merchant met the 'deity'. She wasn't really...yeah I'll have to change that. Maybe I should say that the furs were wrapped around her...for PG sake.

"Alright then, forgive me if I pause. As I'll do my best to remember it correctly." I slowly say as I let out a breath of excitement. "In a land far from here, a merchant by the name of Kraft Lawrence...visited a village named Pasloe to trade furs. But little did he know, that this will lead to he's fateful encounter...with a deity known as...Holo the wise wolf."

* * *

**A/N: Well that took a while for me to do, thankfully I was able to find some time. Still I can't wait for the next chapter, cause things will start to get interesting...as well as some answers provided...hopefully.**

**Anyway, as usual...read, review, or find a fic that is much better than this one. **

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Squadpunk 2.0: Yeah, Leon does have plenty of confidence issues. Though I'm sure that he will go beyond ****amateur skill set...eventually...probably. **

**Well for that side note, it's more of a tease, since the support system led to an eventual S rank. Sadly, it's just a tease... **

**Victory3114:**** Thank you, that really means a lot.**

**Other than somehow bringing dead animals back to life, I'm sure this Risen Necromancer has something interesting up his sleeve. Also, I think there are a few fics out there that have characters using a scythe...but I could be wrong on that. Though it is true that Leon needs to distinguish himself a bit, but that'll come much later. As he is now...he's kinda normal...though I can't see him using an axe or shield. **

**Even though those are interesting ideas...maybe for something else...**


	17. Chapter 17

**Once again there are shift in views. Which may or may not change a bit in future chapters.**

* * *

_It's been almost a week since we left the shepherds, nothing has really happened. Not even a Risen encounter, which I'm thankful for since I have no weapon to speak of. Though it took away the lessons I was getting from Lucina, not like I was going to learn with nothing but a stick. While that might work in Anime and RPG games...not gonna to work here._

_Besides, the princess used the Falchion when she trained me, if that sword is really as sharp as I believe it is...than a mere piece of wood won't last a second against it. _

_Though, on plus side, she __substituted the sword training with basic knowledge on how to make traps. Arming and placing them in the correct place and patiently waiting for our next meal. I guess she did that so she wouldn't be annoyed by me since I can't do anything. Might as well be of some use..._

_I was able to catch a few squirrels, but no rabbits...sucks since for some weird reason I kinda crave them. Oh god I hope I don't consider eating Panne if I meet her...not kidding I think I'm developing an addiction. That or I just really miss eating chicken..._

_Still, at least she let's me tell her a bit more on Spice &amp; Wolf...she seemed to like it that night. And did seem a bit disappointed when I stopped...just after Lawrence and Holo made their agreement to travel together...because I was hungry and tired. The night after that, she seemed eager to listen when I asked if she wanted to hear a bit more. Though I only managed to get to the part about the counterfeit coins...had to explain what I remembered about that world's economics._

_Though as of last night, I managed to tell her about the part where Holo had to transform to save Lawrence and herself. It was funny when Lucina seemed a bit shocked by the description I gave her of Holo's wolf form, like she was on the verge on saying 'Whoa!'. I guess I'm not that bad of a story teller...even though my only audience is a princess with a horrible taste in dresses. Still shudder at the thought of those colors..._

_Maybe I should introduce her to something else...but what else could work? Black Rock Shooter? Might work but I'd go for the afterlife version, cause at least she's with Ron. Love that snake, since he can turn into a sword and a cannon! Though the Other Self version had it's own standing as well because of Mato...maybe both._

_RWBY? That might work but I'll have to explain the technological parts a little bit...maybe later down the line when I tell about other ones. But it might give an excuse to sing a few of the songs I know...__especially the ones from the trailers..._

_Then there is also the __eventuality of Hyperdimension Neptunia, she has to learn about those four CPUs...and the candidates...and the Ultradimesion verison of Neptune. Okay, maybe not that last one because I wouldn't want to traumatize her...I still remember what happened to IF. That poor little girl...the horror she witnessed!_

_Also am I seriously considering the idea of turning Lucina into an Anime lover? I pretty sure the fanboys and girls will kill me for that..._

I quietly chuckled as I put away the journal.

Why do I get the feeling that if I inform Midori about that idea, she'll not only agree but help out? I actually wouldn't be surprised...guess I'll have to come up with a plan...to convert Lucina. That sounded a little wrong when taken out of context doesn't it? Hopefully that might help if she's mad for me accidentally taking her gauntlets...I honestly forgot I had them in the knapsack.

Anyway, on a serious note, we're close to Ylisstol. I did managed to get that from Lucina, while she was reading a piece of paper. Which she apparently took out of the small coin purse. From what it looks like it's obviously not in English. Still we agreed that we should check the place out for answers.

Which reminds me, if English isn't written in this world, then what is? I'm going to have to learn how to read aren't I? That's going to suck...though at least I'll finally be able to read something. Cause I haven't read anything since I got to this world...hopefully Ylisstol has something entertaining.

"Time to move," The princess's voice brings me from my thoughts.

"Alright," I merely say as I throw on the knapsack and follow her. "Say Marth, how much further to Yisstol?"

"...It's a few more hours." She says as we walk through the lush green field. "We'll be able to see it soon."

Forgot to mention the field didn't I? Well since yesterday, we exited out of several forests and are now traveling through green fields. We did pass through a small farm that was on the side of the road. Though the princess didn't seem to be intent on visiting.

Anyway back to the topic on hand. "So...do you know the location Jon gave us? If not then we'll have to ask for directions."

"I...am familiar with the area." She says. "The address that was given...leads to a place in the south western side of the capital. Within the second wall..."

That's...interesting. Sure she was likely born in that place, but to know a near exact location. That's a bit strange, has she visited that place before? Meh, I'll ask about that later...

"Well that's good then," I say as I rubbed my neck. "As much as I want to explore the capital, the sooner we check that place, the sooner we get our answers."

Lucina said nothing as we continued to move through the fields.

* * *

"Whoa...it's incredible!" I nearly yelled as I stared in awe of the sight before me.

The capital of Ylisse...this is gonna be difficult to describe. Ylisstol seems to be divided by two different walls, an inner wall which I assume holds the nobles and the royal castle. Though the last bit is obvious since there's a huge castle in sticking out from behind it!

Anyway, beyond that is the series of wooden and stone buildings that I assume passes for houses, stores and etc. Past that is the outer wall, it's pretty much your typical medieval style wall. At least it's not meant to fight titans...

Past that is the a whole bunch of other things, various tents and crudely built buildings. Not really surprised to see that...either their refugees seeking shelter because of Risen or bandits. That or it's the location a bunch of the city's 'higher' class thought that it was the appropriate place to leave out the 'trash'. Damn those bastards...

Wait, why am I still comparing this to home? For all I know the richer class is nicer than the ones in our history...no that would be foolishly naive. Wouldn't be surprised if those kind of assholes exist here...they're just wearing different faces now. Probably hiding them behind elegant masks as they indulge in their damn games...

Potential start to Robin Hood ideas aside, the capital does look rather beautiful, despite the flaws I know are inside of it.

"So this is the capital, huh?" I state as I did my best to scatter that particular train of thought. "Honestly didn't think I would be here to see it..."

Lucina tilted her head towards me before looking straight forward. We walked through a large gate that let us enter through the wall an into the capital. Honestly it was really crowded, I was almost pushed around a few times...I really don't like crowds.

After an hour of buzzing through the crowded areas, we arrive at a less populated section. Which is pretty much a series of alleyways that cuts through some of the main paths. Basically short cuts...not surprising since this is her home town. It's possible that she was taught the streets and routes in case of an emergency...or other reasons. At least that's the reason that makes the most sense.

Sadly, it was route that was less scenic, I know we're supposed to go to this address. But I couldn't help but look at the streets we passed by. There was a small bookstore; some people buying some fruits or other items, a few men in armor patrolling, and some little kids playing about. It was...nice to watch...

I wonder if the princess took notice of any of this...or just flat out ignored it. No...I doubt she would do that...it might be something else, it might be because of that mission she carries. She really try on not to focus on that way too much...sure it's important, but it shouldn't consume her. Not like from I remembered from that damn nightmare...my chest burns a little every time I think about that.

Still...why did I even dream of that in the first place? Come to think of it, that was the only time I had that kind of nightmare. The Yuno ones don't count since they didn't feel as real as that one. I'm probably overthinking this...I never make any sense anyway...

"...We're here." The princess's voice brings me from my thoughts.

"Huh?" I just stared at the large building in front of us. Which looked like a cross between a church and a warehouse somehow...if that's even possible. It looked pretty worn down, I think I see a loose brick or two. Plus some of the windows appear cracked...

Glancing around it was obvious to tell that the other buildings around it were more or less in the same condition. They looked pretty abandoned, are we in the run down area of the capital or something?

"This the place?" I ask as I glanced at the future child. I would hope she is wrong...but I doubt it would make much difference.

"It appears so..." She says as she stared at the piece of paper she was holding. When did she take it out?

"Guess we'll check to see if anyone's home." I shrugged as we slowly approached the building. Two people walking into a possibly abandoned building with everything else in the same state. Doesn't this paint a bad picture?

Maybe-

Lucina suddenly grabs me and pushes us back. Making us fall to the ground as a fireball lands in front of us.

What the hell!?

"Not one step further..." A voice from above says as we slowly got back up. "Or the next one will actually hit you!"

The princess and I look up see a woman looking down on us from one of the windows.

"Tch, I swear...every month we get random dumbasses who think they could use our home..." The woman says/complains? as she pushes the window open. "Don't move or you'll regret it!"

Slowly she steps on the edge then walks over it.

Wait, what!?

The woman's lower body became covered in green air as she safety descended on the ground. Giving us a good view of her...

Her body was covered in some kind of robe like dress, similar to the one Midori was wearing. Only difference in the it's in a dark red like color, and was bare foot for some reason. She had reddish-crimson like hair with some black strands here and there, with fierce blue eyes. Also, she was holding some kind of staff, that had a blade at the end of it.

Just who is she...other then possibly being an Outrealmer.

"Right when I was going to go sleep too...explain why the hell you're here..." The woman says as she yawned. "Make it quick so I can-"

She blinked as she stares directly at Lucina, her blue eyes widened then quickly narrowed them. That reaction, it's like what happened with Midori...

"Explain why you're here now." She slowly said as she pointed her staff at us. "Be honest, lie and I'll burn you."

Okay this is really weird...

"U-um, well you see..." I nervously start to say, cause I don't want to go crispy. "We were sent here by Jon."

"Hm, do you have any proof?" The woman asks as she seemed unamused. "As I'm sure _anyone_ will just say that..."

And we're being played again aren't we? Dammit, if it's like all the time then I'll take the suicidal risk of breaking Lucina's mask.

"Marth show her the paper..." I sighed as I rubbed the back of my head. It's probably the only thing we have that can be proof. Other the person next me...

The princess looked at me then carefully handed the woman the paper. The woman kept the staff pointed at us as she glanced at the paper. She gritted her teeth as she crumbled it and burned it.

What the-

"That dumbass didn't bother to send a message," She mutters as she lowered the staff. "Alright come inside, introductions and all that will be taken care of in there."

Choosing not to say anything, we follow her into the building. I could've sworn that I heard her mutter something about wanting to sleep.

She opened the doors, which gave to...okay that's interesting. The inside of the building looks better than the outside. Not much of an architect, but that's how it looks. Anyway the building turns out to be a church. I say that since there is a giant statue of a figure that looks like Naga in the back. Which looks rather interesting...

Okay if this is or was a church...why does it look abandoned? Why keep it looking in that condition?

"Nai-chan, what's going on?" Another female voice brings me from my thoughts. I turn to see a girl approaching us...okay that's interesting.

The girl was wearing some type of one piece parka that was whit mixed with a bit of purple, with knee length shorts and boots, similar to Midori's. I'm somehow sensing a theme here...her eyes were dark brown, though the strangest part is the her short hair was a light-ish purple like color. That somehow looked natural...and with hair clips that looked like directional pads. Like actual directional pads used in game controllers.

Just like...Neptune's...from Hyperdimension Neptunia...okay...that hair, choice of clothing. We might be dealing with a fan/cosplayer. Kinda like Midori, though she insisted she was interested in _costume_ design. Hopefully this one isn't a random fourth wall breaking character...though I'm still waiting for that damn CPU to fall on me. Wait, did I just...dammit.

"We have guests..." The red-haired woman said as light purple haired girl stopped right in front of us. "Sent by Jon...who didn't decide to send a warning before hand. Just...show them around while I get some sleep...and no that does not mean only show them your workshop."

The leather clad girl pouted as the blue eyed woman just walked further into the building. Leaving us alone with the potential Neptunia fan/cosplayer...which I actually wouldn't mind.

"Um, hello." She says, hints of nervousness in her voice. "What are your names?"

"Leon Strife...but please call me Leon." I say as did a polite bow. "And the one next to me is..."

"...Marth." The princess says, in her natural voice. That's a bit weird...why is she doing that?

The brown eyed girl rose an eyebrow as she approached the princess. Who simply stared back at her, her posture seemed normal.

"Marth? That's a cute name..." She says as she reached out to touch the future child's mask. "Can I see this-"

"No!" Lucina nearly shouted as she literally took a few steps back. Okay, what just happened? Is she...nervous? Why the hell would she be nervous?

The light-purple haired girl rose an eyebrow as she tilted her head. "Um...okay then, well my name is Suki...Suki Rose."

Suki Rose...not a bad name...guess it's better than naming herself after a Neptunia character.

"Nice to meet you, Suki." I say as I crossed my arms. "So who was the one that greeted us...she certainly gave us a warm welcome."

"Oh, sorry about that." Suki said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Nai-chan is...a bit difficult when she doesn't get much sleep."

Nai-chan? So that woman's name is Nai? That's interesting...unless I actually misheard it...

"Anyway, Jon sent you two here right?" She asked. "So that means that you're either from the same place we're from or he trusts you enough to direct you here."

I merely nodded. "Yeah, since I am from the same lands. Guess he just trusted Marth enough to guide us here."

Last part is obvious bullshit, still is this girl just saying that because of our nervous princess? Who is still a few steps away from us...which is still weird. What's with her...

"Oh, have you met Jason and Onee-chan? Jason is a bit of a jerk and Onee-chan is...Onee-chan."

"Um, yeah we've met Jason, Onee-chan...do you mean Midori by any chance?"

The light-purple haired girl beamed as she nodded. "That's great! Since you're actually here then Onee-chan must like you two. She was always...cautious when it came to meeting new people. Especially when they eventually meet me..."

If you call almost slicing me in half with her scythe _cautious._ Then I don't want to know what she's like when she's mad. Still need to thank Lucina for the save...

"...Onee...chan?" I hear Lucina try and barely manage to pronounce, making me look at her. "What does that mean?"

"Oh, um it means...big sister." I answer, letting out a small grin. "Suki is pretty much calling Midori her sister, but are the two of you related?"

The potential Neptunia fan/cosplayer shook her head. "No, but we've known each other for a long time. She's always treated me like a little sister...she's my best friend."

"...I...see." The princess says as she held her hand to her chest. Haven't seen her do that in awhile, she's thinking about something important to her isn't she?

"Anyway," I did a mock cough, gaining the two's attention. "So Nai, if that's her name, said to show us around right? Also did she say something about a workshop?"

"Nai-chan's full name is Nai Kuuhaku." Suki said as she let out another smile. "Cool name right? Anyway, follow me there's some awesome stuff for you to see!"

* * *

Nai Kuuhaku stayed silent as she watched Suki lead the two further inside. In the direction that was Suki's workshop if she may add. Hopefully she won't keep them in there for too long, there were other places to see after all.

'At least she might make some new friends.' She thought as she slowly moved on. 'She does need to do more social interactions, it's not healthy for her to be in that workshop all day. Or working at the forge...'

The redhead yawned as she made her way to a certain location. A location that unfortunately was not a bed, despite what she really desired. Those two had the gall to just arrive when she wanted to take a nap...why couldn't that idiotic swordsman had warned her!? She almost technically burned an important person, along with some random person she could care less about!

Nai cursed under her breath as she arrived at her destination. A bird coop, filled with a few empty pens, minus one.

'So he did send a message, it had to be today that I actually check.' She thought as she opened the pen and carefully took the message the bird was carrying. Like she had done so many times before.

The blue eyed woman sighed as she open the message and read it's contents.

_Nai or Suki or Edward. __Whichever of you three opened this message. _

_We have two important guests, Lucina the time traveling princess and a young man who goes by the name of Leon Strife. I do not need to remind you of Lucina's importance to what we have planned. Jason and Anna will be with you in day or so. But I'll take longer since I need to inform Chrom and Frederick about me spending time with 'family' members. Until then just treat her like she is one of us._

_As for the newcomer, who is one of us, as Jason AND Midori can vouch for him. He hasn't been briefed nor offered the choice yet, though do treat him nicely. However as a newcomer he has virtually no training, and after seeing his current abilities. He is in serious need of knowledge necessary for survival, so if you want...feel free to offer any assistance. We take care of our own after all, but try not maiming him too much...his companion is the princess and we do not want to alienate her. _

_To Edward, even though you did agree to it. Do not even think about trying that...we both know what would happen if you try to make any 'advancements' to the princess. Remember the threats of castration Nai and Midori gave you. As they did shout them at you after that one incident with that noble family's daughter. And now that I've actually befriended Virion, he's more 'held back' compared to you. You're choice on whether it's an insult or compliment...either way Midori owes me fifty gold._

_To Suki, please try not to take away Lucina's mask and sword. I know you wanted to get your hands on the Falchion and that thing for awhile. But please do not do anything like that until we gain her trust, even if it's possible that she knew us or of us in her timeline. That does not mean she'll trust us from the beginning, just give it time and try to be friend to her. I know you could do that..._

_To Nai, yes I did purposely make this one last to force you to read the entire thing. In seriousness though, I need you to run a check on Leon, we need to know if he has the potential to use mana. Midori couldn't do it due to certain circumstances, so I leave this to you. If he turns out to be capable then don't try to persuade him into becoming your apprentice. He hasn't been offered the choice yet, so just check and tell me if he can or not. However if you do get the idea of assisting him, then try not hurting him too badly. Also make sure Suki doesn't try anything on Lucina...we all know how she can be. And sorry Suki if you're reading this, we both know it's true anyway._

_-Jon_

Nai clicked her tongue as she folded the message. Silently debating if she should burn it, but decided not since it held a message for all of them.

'Great, another thing to add to the ever growing list of things to do.' She thought as she yawned, the desire for sleep completely taking over. 'I'll do all that later, right now there's a bed with my name on it.'

* * *

"Welcome to my workshop!" The potential Neptunia fan/cosplayer cheerfully yelled as she revealed her work place.

And wow, it really is an actual work place. It's pretty much a huge room with drawings and schematics of various weapons, armors and even characters, all placed in various parts of the room. Seriously there are drawings of Dead Master with chains surrounding her, and a whole bunch of other characters from various Animes. She's actually pretty talented...

"Sorry for the mess." Suki's voice makes me look at her. "I've been meaning to clean up, but just haven't found the time."

"Meh, I've seen worse..." I say as I walked around the room, careful to not step on any of the drawings on the floor. "So you love to draw and design things?"

"Yeah, I'm a bit of a crafter." The light-purple haired girl says as she picked up some random drawing. "Though most of the stuff I think up never go past the design phase."

"How come?" I asked as I looked at a schematic. Wait...that's Crescent Rose! An actual detailed schematic on that awesome transforming gun scythe! In both it's gun form and scythe form, holy shit was she thinking of making this!? It seems possible, but...that would be a game changer to this world. That's if she can figure out the way to replicate it's physics deifying abilities.

"Mostly because such ideas are not considered possible." The crafter's sad voice catches my attention. "At least that's what all the blacksmiths and other skilled craftsman say in this city. They're too used to what they know and don't even think about the possibilities of what new techniques and ideas can bring."

That's...not surprising. If this world is even one bit similar to ours, than they're a bunch of morons. Maybe I should say something nice...least I can do.

"Well that sucks for them," I start to say as I pick up the schematic that had the scythe. "Cause it's bound to be more satisfying when you prove them wrong."

"True, but that won't be for awhile." She says as she walked over and gently took the schematic. "By the way, what weapon do you prefer?"

"Huh?"

"What kind of weapon do you like?" She asks again, giving me an analytical look. "Do you like axes? No you look too scrawny, so a bow? No, you don't seem the type. Gun user then? You do have that type of look but guns don't exist yet. That body posturing checks gauntlet, arm and leg blades off the list. How about-"

"Sword." I say in an attempt to make her stop. "I used to use a sword, but I...lost it."

"Oh, a classic eh?" The brown eyed girl rose an eyebrow as she tilted her head. "What kind? Buster? No, forgot you're scrawny. Type that turns into a scythe? Oh, I know...a gun blade! No wait that's not possible how about-"

"Rapier." Surprisingly Lucina is the one who answered. "It was a rapier."

"A rapier? Oh, that's definitely a classic." Suki beamed as she places the schematic down on a table. She does a little spin when she looked back at me. "Hm, rapier user, scrawny body probably doesn't have much physical strength. Equip a shield? Might work but you'll need to train, plus it depends on the type of shield. Large ones...out of the question, small might work if they have bladed edges. What if you could throw-"

"Pardon me for asking." I say to get her to stop again. "But why are you thinking up others things I could use? Besides I barely know how to use a sword, I don't think I'm ready for shield not even dual wielding if you're thinking that."

The crafter blushed as she looked like she just realized what she was just doing.

"Oh...um...sorry...it's just..." She nervously fiddled with her thumbs. "Everyone here takes care of each other...like a family. So since you're from home...Onee-chan and the others seems to trust you. Doesn't that make you a new member?"

That's...cute, a bit naive but still cute. Wonder how old she is...around my age maybe?

"I guess that makes a little sense," I start to say as I rubbed the back of my head. Should change the subject before it get's awkward. "So by any chance are you a Neptunia-"

Suki let out sudden and admittedly cute squeal. "Yes, one that knows other than Onee-chan! I used to try to cosplay when I was younger, though can you guess who I styled myself from?"

That's an easy question...

"Heh, well minus the ability to break the break the fourth wall and possible love of pudding." I smirked as I crossed my arms. "You're trying to pull off a Neptune look. Which is cute by the way."

Wait, I said last part out loud didn't I? Fuck...

"C-cute?" The confirmed Neptunia fan blushed as she tried to look at something else. "U-um...t-thank you..."

Great, that cute display is making me blush, and I called her cute again didn't I? Fuck...why do I end up making things weird?

"We should look at the rest of the building." Lucina says, making the both of us look at her. She sounded a little annoyed for some reason. "As there seems to be more to this place."

"Huh? Oh, right." Suki said as she nervously nodded. "Follow me..."

She quietly walked through to another door. Great, I've probably made things really awkward, also doesn't help that I kinda ignored on what ever the princess was doing. Why did she sound annoyed anyway?

Was it something I did?

* * *

"Hurry up! Why are you being slow!?"

"Midori...for the last time, we're driving a horse carriage through narrow and crowded streets!" Jason groaned. "I can't exactly go any faster."

"I know but we have get back home..." The scythe user sighed as she let her legs dangle from the top of the carriage. "But I'm just worried about Suki."

"Why?" Anna asked as stood to look at her. "Do you think something's wrong?"

"Yes, since I forgot to factor in what would happen if she met _Leon." _She said as she shook her head. "Suki hasn't exactly encountered a boy that's around her age in a long time. Thanks to _my_ protective instincts..."

"And so begins her delusional fantasies...Naga help us all." Jason muttered but the battlemage chose to ignore that last bit.

"Ahem, as I was saying..." She continues to say, focusing on the redheaded merchant. "Because of her tendency to stay in her workshop and craft amazing ideas. Something she dreamed of doing when she was younger, but..."

"But since it involves Leon, you're worried something might happen?" Anna guessed.

"Yes," The scythe user nodded, then clenched her hands. "I'm worried that _he _may ruin my precious little sister's purity and send her down a terrible path of despair!"

"And pray tell what evidence do you have?" Jason asked, sounding completely bored and annoyed somehow. "You're the one that help give the kid a green light. What made you change your mind about him?"

"Because he _stole_ my gauntlets!" Midori exclaimed as she angrily flailed her arms in the air. "Sure Jon did say that he must have _conveniently_ forgotten about them. But he probably saw the talent and ability that was put into them! Since it was Suki who made my scythe and armor!"

She sighed as she rested her head in her head. She truly cared and loved her little sister, more than anything she can ever say. Since they both arrived in this world at the same time, they both woke up next to each other for crying out loud! Which was different from the others, as they say that they woke up by themselves in various places.

Either it was by fate or chance, she doesn't give a damn what ever it may be. All she knows is that it had sparked a bond between the two since the very beginning. Something she has no plans for it to be severed...ever!

'Leon better not be planning anything,' She thought as traces of air danced on her fingers. 'Unless, he's actually planning on doing something! Maybe he's going to play nice then slowly seduce her! Like hell I'm going to let that happen!'

"When I get there, if he as so much as makes her cry...he's a dead man." The scythe user stated as she laid down and closed her eyes. Ignoring whatever the merchant couple were going to say.

There was absolutely no way that she'll let anyone touch her little sister, not on her watch!

* * *

"...What just happened?" Anna asked, seemingly confused by the situation.

"Midori being Midori..." Jason stated as he let out a sigh. "She honestly thinks that something is gonna happen to Suki. Despite evidence to the contrary."

His wife giggled as she settled down next him. "Oh, I know that...she really cares for Suki, huh? Kinda like me and my sisters, whenever one is in deep trouble we do our best to help out."

"By deep trouble, you mean when they're caught pulling a dangerous scam." The merchant stated as he rolled his eyes. "Just like that time where you tried to-"

The redheaded merchant covered his mouth preventing from saying anything else. He was secretly glad the battlemage had chose to ignore them for the duration of the trip.

"You promised never to speak about that." She cheerfully grinned. A clear warning not to dare her any further on the subject. "Since you did end up getting involved."

'That was purely circumstantial and you know it!' He mentally protested, knowing better than to try to say it out loud. 'We weren't married yet for crying out loud! Even though we did tie the damn knot after the whole incident. Only because of your sudden confession...'

After a second or so, his wife released her hold on him. "Anyway, think Leon is going to be in any trouble? I kinda grown to like him."

"Unless Midori is somehow right," He starts to say, still glad that said person was ignoring them. "I doubt it, she'll probably just cool off when she sees them getting along nicely. She'll probably start thinking off taking Leon under her wing, same with the princess. Naga help us if that happens...plus I'll owe Jon twenty gold. That smug bastard would rub it in if he wins."

Anna giggled as she leaned on his arms. "Well good thing I placed a few bets of my own."

"And a lot good that'll do us. Since you're such a terrible gambler." He muttered before being playfully punched in the arm. "Come on you know it's true. Of all the Anna's you're the-"

"Finish that and you'll be sleeping in the carriage by yourself." His wife warned with a smile, sounding completely serious. "For a complete week."

"...Fine ruin my moments of fun." He muttered as she giggled. A sound that he always enjoyed, not that he'll admit it publicly. He's supposed to be the ass after all. "It'll take a little while to get through this, let's hope the excitement doesn't start without us."

* * *

_For some weird reason I've been feeling this chill up my spine. Like I've really done something wrong, even though I'm pretty sure I didn't._

_Meh, it's probably just nerves..._

_Anyway, Suki showed us the rest of the building and I'm really surprised. This church/warehouse or what ever it was, is kinda large. She showed us the sleeping quarters, a sparing zone, a storage room, a huge kitchen and dining room. Wow, how did they even managed to get this place? Also what's with the church thing in the front?_

_Guess that's another thing I'll have to ask._

_Still, it was a bit hard to look at everything when the princess sent the occasional death glare. Seriously, every time me and Suki end up talking about something involving Anime. Which was really fun since she knew a lot, the time child glared at me like she was planning to pierce the back of my head!_

_What the hell did I even do? Yes, I know it has something to do with Suki, I'm not that much of a dumbass. I just don't know the exact reason why it might involve the Neptunia fan..._

_Did she know her personally? In her future I mean...was Suki an important person? Like a caretaker, that helped her out? I can kinda see the role for our crafter. She does seem to be the type..._

_Still whatever the reason, I kinda want to ask her despite knowing that she won't give me answers. Maybe I should just apologize for the whatever kinda offense I did. __I'll figure out the reason later...hopefully._

I sighed as I close the journal.

It's nighttime now, and due to the time passing by we were offered the chance to stay the night. Surprisingly Lucina had accepted the offer, I honesty thought she was gonna refuse. Her weird behavior aside, we were given some rooms next to each other.

I wanted to sleep but for some reason I really didn't feel like it. So after the princess entered her room and leaving the knapsack in mine. I decided to do some more exploring, with the initial excuse that I was looking for a bathroom. Which apparently exists in this world. Though...let's just say that you may want to hold your nose...and bring your own paper. I will not say anymore...I really took plumbing for granted.

Anyway, my little exploration ended with me revisiting the areas that were already introduced. I ended up entering the room that was Suki's workshop, and she was there interestingly. She appeared to be working on something and was too focused to even notice me.

So I decided to be polite and moved on with her even noticing. To be clear I have little idea on what she was working on. She was muttering to herself about something that involved shifting an axe to a great sword. Which sounded a bit familiar to my gamer instincts...for some reason.

In the end all that exploring had brought me back to the front entrance. Where here I am just standing in front of the Naga statue.

Have to admit that even in the dark, the statue looks...elegant. It's displaying the goddess in a beautiful way, but it has an interesting look with in it's eyes. Like that of a mother's...I have no idea why but that's how I see it. Wonder how she actually looks...since she actually does exist.

Though didn't she say that she was wasn't really a divine being? Something about her and that bastard fell dragon being powerful but no where near a true divine? Makes sense I suppose, but wouldn't that mean she has a limited effect on this world?

Then that might mean she might not be able to send me...NO don't start thinking about that! Just bury it and focus on the now! You made yourself that stubborn child's tactician, so learn and improve so you and her can surviving what's coming. Whether or not there's a chance for that to happen, it wouldn't matter if you end up dead.

"Dammit," I muttered as I did my best to scatter that particular thought. "Why does it have to be that..."

"Pardon if I interrupt, but may I speak with you?"

Huh?

I quickly turn to see the red haired woman from earlier, Nai Kuuhaku was it? She was slowly approaching me, she was still wearing the clothing from before but this time she was wearing dark red boots. Guess she really likes red. Her staff was still with her, only that it was strapped to her back.

"U-um, what is it?" I asked, a little curious to what she wanted to discuss.

"First, I am sorry for my behavior," She said then sighed. "I was...deprived of much needed sleep when the two of you arrived."

"Oh, it's alright." I say as I tried to wave it off. "Not like it hasn't happened to me before..."

The staff wielder rose an eyebrow. "Anyway, due to the nature of our meeting, I'd like to introduce my self properly."

She does a small polite bow. "My name is Nai Kuuhaku, it is a pleasure."

"Um, Leon Strife..." I say as I rubbed my head nervously. "So...you're from the same lands as I am from?"

"Not the same place, but the general location yes." She nodded. "You wouldn't be here if you weren't. I guess our _unofficial_ leader decided you were trust worthy."

Unofficial leader?

"Not sure who that is," I start to say. "But by process of elimination, I guessing between Jon and Jason. Though I could be wrong and it's Midori...that'd be an interesting twist."

"Heh, as if that immature lunatic can lead." She chuckles. "Still, Jon has been the one leading all of us...since he found us."

"Found us? What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that waking up in these lands makes end up in interesting places." She waves off as she clicked her tongue. "I have a favor to ask of you, and it's very important."

I merely nodded.

"Hold still for just a few minutes," She says as her hands start to glow a blue-greenish light. "I need to see if you have the ability to use magic."

"Why? Is it something you check with everyone like us?" As much as I want to say yes so I can know if I can wield magic. I'd rather be cautious first...

"Yes, it's necessary for safety concerns." She said as she moved a bit closer. "May I?"

Okay, not getting a bad feeling off of this, screw it might as well go with it.

"Okay..." I simply say as the red haired woman rose her hands.

The blue-greenish energy moved from her hands and onto me. It felt...familiar, like when Lucina healed me with the Falchion, only that it didn't feel as...right. The energy slowly surrounded my body then slowly started to blink. It acted like a heart beat...somehow...

"That's interesting," Nai says as the energy continued to blink. "That's a sightly above average reserve..."

"What does that mean?"

She narrowed her eyes as the energy blinks once more before slowly dissipating. "It seems you are capable of using mana...but you'll have to wait for awhile."

"How long exactly?"

"Oh, about a month to be safe..." She says as she crossed her arms. "Until then, when Midori and the others get back things should be explained properly by then."

A month? That's how long it'll take? Meh, at least it seems like I can actually use it...great another thing I can utterly suck at.

"Anymore questions?"

"Oh, um...I know this might be weird to ask..." I start to say. "But how many of us are there? I remember Jason telling me that there are ten...with more that died..."

The blue eyed woman started to giggle. "Heh, of course that moron would exaggerate...no there aren't ten or more."

"Then how many are there?" I knew he was bullshitting on the number but what's the correct amount?

"Oh, with the addition of you...seven." She says, sounding honest. "A small number, but that's all the ones we know of...we did find evidence of those that arrived before us. But that's for another time, goodnight Leon I must be going."

With that she turned and left without another word. Leaving me alone wit my thoughts and the Naga statue. Okay, let's recap, including myself there are seven Outrealmers, and I can possibly wield magic but not for some time.

Well that's gonna leave me with some thoughts, I should probably go to bed and sleep now. I think more interesting revelations are about to happen tomorrow...

* * *

Nai quietly smiled to herself as she made her way to her room. The night has been an interesting one...

As it seems that she may just have a chance to gain an apprentice. Something she's been wanting for some time now. True that she could fill that role by using Suki but since the young crafter is influenced by that _battlemage. _It is doubtful that such a thing could happen...

'Shame, Suki has a lot of potential.' The staff user thought. 'Even though she can't cast any magic, she can do so much more...she was able to forge some weapons for us. Like that other mage's scythe...'

She sighed, she supposed that it couldn't be helped. Suki and...Midori...were together ever since they arrived in this world. It is rather strange that those two woke up side by side, when everyone else found themselves alone.

Though it matters not if it by coincidence or elements of fate. All she knows is that she's found a possible substitute. From what she analyzed...Leon's reserves are steadily growing, which was rather interesting. Since for their kind, they have to be exposed to certain amount of mana to have a _chance_ at being capable to use it.

Whatever the amount the young man was exposed, it was quite the amount. It had managed to kick start the process, but the question is...what was he exposed to? He had to be exposed and affected by mana within certain periods of time. Possibly by a healing mage...but the amount of mana they channel is not enough to start the process.

It had to be something else, and she intends to find out. Perhaps tomorrow she should begin her...assistance with the young man's training. She has been determined to implement a training style that is similar to a certain Great Knight's 'Fanatical Fitness Hour'. Or as Jon would put it, an hour of utter and complete hell! Despite utter having the same definition and use as complete...

"Heh, this gonna be fun..." She giggled as ideas of possible training regiments started to form.

All and all, the night as indeed been an interesting one.

* * *

**A/N: Well, I wanted most of the explanations to be done in this chapter...but I couldn't cause of how long it would take. Plus it'd might have put the whole chapter over twenty thousand words, a bit too much for me. ****Apologies for anyone who wanted that...**

**So as many times before, read, review, or find a better story.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Squadpunk 2.0: **** Yeah, Leon does has his...moments. Also he did say he was possibly developing a crush, though either way makes him feel horribly. Wouldn't be surprised if the other Shepherds were out for him...he did do something really terrible.**

**Victory3114: True, he may never live that particular event down. **

**Well, as with any RPG, there are plenty of optional side quests to be done. And that was probably the most terrible hint I've ever done.**

**Also true, I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider that at one point or another. But still, Leon is in a deciding phase, he hasn't developed or thought of a particular style of fighting yet. Who knows maybe he will or won't, we'll see how he grows.**

**Yes, it really is a great light novel. And I have been thinking doing Omakes, but my ideas would technically be considered parody based crossovers. Not really sure if I should do them...**

**King Keith: Well...thanks, I'm glad to know that I've actually improved a bit. I did do that with that particualr intention in the first place. Since it may be a bit dull to stick to one side of the story the whole time. When there is always more then one side to every tale...**

**Also, I'm looking forward to whatever you end up writing. It may make for an interesting reading...**


	18. Chapter 18

**As expected there are shifts in views...sorry for any confusion.**

* * *

"..._yellow beauty burns...gold." _I quietly hummed as I wrote the last of the lyrics. I sighed as I closed the journal.

Lucina was sparing against Anna, a kinda boring match up since Anna was not taking the princess seriously. She just keeps dodging and attacking when she deemed it needed. Guess she has either more skilled or faster than the masked princess. Most likely the latter...

Anyway, Anna along with Jason and Midori had arrived last night. At least that's what they said at breakfast, which was cooked by Nai and was delicious. Though for some reason I kept getting chills up my spine when every Midori glanced at me. It was borderline death glare like...guess she really wants the gantlets back. Really should return them...

After eating the delicious breakfast, which was eggs and some meat, I politely thanked them for meal then followed after the princess. Anna apparently decided to follow us after Jason whispered something to her. She 'asked' Lucina if she wanted to spar. By 'asked', I mean by drawing out her steel sword and acting like the answer was yes.

Creepy part was the smile she had when she did that. It was borderline Yuno when she goes yandere...those nightmares still haunt me. Like a while back, I dream't that she was chasing me with a chainsaw! Where the hell did she even get that!?

Because of that I ended up screaming myself awake, which woke Lucina and nearly freaked her out. She almost drew her blade! Thankfully I was able to quickly say that it was just a bad dream...wait where was I? Oh right, Anna sparing Lucina...I did watch the first five minutes of it, but got bored when I realized that Anna wasn't serious.

Somehow, it felt like she was stalling for something. But what exactly?

"Um...excuse me..."

Huh?

I turn to see Jason walking towards me, behind him was a nervous looking Suki. Wait, she's holding something...is that a sword?

"Suki, I know your nervous but just present him it okay?" Jason said as he patted the girl's head. "If he doesn't like it, then Midori will take care of it..."

And now part of my spine is chilled, kinda afraid to wonder what is meant by 'take care of it'.

The crafter blushed before walking towards me. She was muttering something incomprehensible.

"Um...here..." She nervously says as she presents the sword. "It's something...that was laying around. I want you to have it, since you don't have a weapon."

"Huh? Oh, um...thanks." I say as I take the blade away.

It was surprisingly light, with a straight black leather grip and a V shaped hilt guard that was a bit jagged. The sheath was brown and kinda thin...

Carefully I pull the sword from it's sheath, letting it show the length. Which was about the same length as the rapier I was using. The blade itself looked pristine compared to the other one...also there's a small inscription.

"I-it's made out of steel if your wondering." The Neptunia fan's voice makes me look back. "I originally made it for someone else...but he didn't like it because the blade wasn't long and thick enough for his style. Plus he wanted it in silver. So I thought it might work for you, since you used to use a rapier...um do you like it?"

"It's...really beautiful." I muttered. "Wait, you said silver? Isn't that an expensive metal? Especially if it's pure or something?"

"There's advantages to being a merchant and married to an Anna." Jason answered sounding a bit confident. "Plus the one who asked for a silver sword because of that stupid role he plays."

Don't know what that last part is about...

"So what's written on the blade?" I asked.

"I...was asked to write it in." Suki muttered nervously putting her fingers together. "The word is _Ciri_, but I don't know what it means. Only Edward does...he's the one that asked me to write it down."

"Ciri..." Somehow that sounds elegant but mixed with something else...meh might not be important.

"So I guess Edward is one of us..." I stated as I carefully put the blade back in it's sheath. "This really...you put a lot of work into it didn't you? Are you sure you want to just give it away?"

"It's not going to get much use if I leave it in the workshop." She shook her head. "Plus you're one of us, and we take care of each other. Besides, as much as I want to use it...I'm training to use a different set of weapons..."

"Guess you have a point..." I sighed as I lowered the blade. "Alright then, I'll take it off your hands then." Though I'll have to give it to Lucina...since it technically violates our agreement.

The crafter beamed as she nodded. "Just for you to know, the hilt is meant to be held by two hands. But I customized it so it can be held by one, provided if you're strong enough. If you have any problems or want it customized a bit more then see me. Though if you want it enchanted-"

"That would be my specialty."

I turned to see Nai approaching us, she was wearing that dark red robe like dress and had those boots of matching color. She _really_ likes red doesn't she...also she's holding her staff.

"If you need an item enchanted, I can...assist in the matter." She says as she leaned against her staff. "Provided you pay a small fee of course, I am a Scribe-Enchanter after all."

"Scribe-Enchanter?" Lucina asked as she appears right next to me. "Do you not mean Sage?"

Holy...when did she even get there, damn me for being distracted by a cute girl. Who I just called cute again...damn it.

"Because of my own teachings and origins. I'm different from that particular title." The blue eyed woman said as she held out her hand. A tiny flame sprouts to life and danced on the tips of her finger.

"As you can see, I utilize a different method when using magic." She said as she flexed her finger, letting the tiny flame grow. "A method that no doubt you believe to be impossible, Marth."

The princess remained quiet as she stared directly at her. Thankfully her hands were not near her sword...

"But that is not important as of now," The Scribe-Enchanter said as she extinguished the flame. "As you know, my name is Nai Kuuhaku and like Leon and the others. I too am of the same origins. And I have a proposition for the both of you."

"...What is it?" The princess asked, an edge of caution in her voice.

"As I told Leon last night, he has potential for the use of magic." She begins as she leaned against her palm. "I like to take him under my apprenticeship, but I also want to gauge his current skill set. As well as yours..."

Okay, I can feel the princess glares...even though she's not looking directly at me.

"...Why do you want to know my skill set?"

The red haired woman smiled as she narrowed her eyes. "From what I understand and been told. Leon has only been able to survive because of you. That takes a certain level of skill, and besides..."

She shook her head.

"It is of no matter, my proposition is this...I want the two of you to face off against me. If both of you can make me submit, I'll lessen the waiting time and answer some of the questions you have...as they are no doubt the reason for your visit."

"And if we lose?" I asked, wait am I considering this?

"If both of you fail to either defeat me or prove yourselves capable," She slowly says as another smile grew upon her lips. "Then I'll take Leon into a...conscription type apprenticeship. While Marth will be kindly asked to leave and never come back..."

The hell!? That's got to be bullshit right?

"Nai-chan! That's really mean!"

"Well I'm not getting involved," Jason said as he shrugged. "I'll be right back though, Midori's got to see this. She's gonna owe me twenty gold..."

And with that he walked away from the conversation...what an asshole.

"Well now...do you accept?" Nai asked. "Of course you could wait for Jon to come back, but that could take weeks. As he is a part of the Shepherds...and his duties often take much of his time."

Well...crap, really don't know what to say right now...though it's not like she'll actually...

"We...accept your proposal." Lucina says, making me look at her in shock. If she didn't sound reluctant then I would've said something.

Still...are you freaking kidding me!?

"Then the deal is struck, come then we'll do this on the sparing range."

The red haired woman led the princess to the center of the sparring zone. Or range as she called it, while I stood there still shocked by the turn of events. What the hell just happened?

"Leon..." Suki whispering voice draws me from my stumper. "Please listen to me..."

"What is it?" I asked, trying my best not to blush as she moved in really close.

"In combat, Nai-chan favors both distant and close range fire and wind type spells. She can use thunder but doesn't use it in battle since-never mind that. Just be careful when she _let's_ you get close, I helped make her staff blade and it is really sharp. She can use it like a spear, but she mainly focuses on spells. She can also he-"

"Suki, if you are done in trying to assist Leon." Nai's voice cuts off whatever Suki was going to say. "Please step aside and observe, do you understand?"

"Y-yes, Nai-chan. Good luck Leon...be careful." The crafter said as she moved away from me. She quietly sat to next to Anna who winked at me and mouthed 'Good Luck!'.

"Since that is dealt with, Leon why don't you stand by Marth's side? The two of you can discuss your plan while I move to the farther side. Oh, and in case you are wondering...my attacks will not be lethal but do not hold back." Without even waiting for a response she moves away from the princess.

Okay, this is...what the hell...this has to be some sort of bullshit filled plan. It feels like she's trying to play us for something, but what the hell is it? Also why did Lucina accept the whole damn thing in the first place!? I know she was reluctant but is she that desperate for answers!?

"What did...she tell you?" The time child asked not even sparing me a glance.

"Suki told me that Nai uses both long range and close range attacks." I whispered as my hand rested the hilt of my new blade. "And her staff can be used like a spear, so we're going to have to draw her attention. But be careful, she said something about Nai allowing us to get close." And what ever she was going to add was interrupted...have to be careful here.

Lucina nodded as her hand rested on the hilt of the Falchion.

"I know you really want answers..." I slowly whispered, staring at the Scribe-Enchanter. "But please don't do anything drastic, I get the feeling that we have to work-"

"Are the two of you done?" Nai's voice interrupts me. "Because now...you'll face me...let's have some fun."

The princess slowly drew her blade, "Leon, stay back. I'll deal with her...alone."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"She's...on a level you cannot hope to match."

"The hell does that mean?"

"I...can't explain...please just trust me."

Okay, I think she just ignored me after I explained what Suki told me. The hell is with her!? Dammit, there's no chance to argue with her...damn it.

"I...fine...but if it looks like you need help, I'm stepping in no matter what you say." Even if I do suck, I can't just watch...so I'll wait and see if I can steal the advantage. Regardless if she needs it or not...

She nodded as she turned to face Nai. I could have sworn I heard her whisper something.

"Well that is a bit unwise," The Scribe-Enchanter commented as flames sprouted on the tips of her fingers. "Without him you're all by yourself...meh, no matter the outcome will remain the same."

The time child said nothing as she moved into a familiar position and charged.

* * *

Nai was excited...no her whole body was nearly shaking with anticipation. Needless to say that her little bluff worked wonderfully.

She watched the princess move towards her, effortlessly closing the distance. It made her smirk.

'Heh, knew she'd do that.' She thought as the flames in her hands extinguished and were replaced by green air. Without much effort she quickly casted a kinetic blast of wind. Pushing the princess back and forcing her to land on her side.

'She tried to quickly close the distance to try to end this...' The blue eyed woman thought as she narrowed her eyes. 'A bit reckless...unless...'

Her hands quickly became covered in fire as the time child stood up. With a smirk she casted a small ball of fire at the child. She isn't worried in the least about harming her, after all the flames may be bright and warm. But that's all there is to it...just purely meant for kinetic like blows. At least when she wants it to be...

The princess obviously didn't know as she dodge the orb and charged again.

'Again? Just what is she trying to do...' Nai rose an eyebrow as she released a burst of flames. Her opponent side stepped and jumped back a few times then stopped when the flames could no longer reach her.

'That's it!' The redhead mentally exclaimed. 'She's trying to to see the distance my spells can reach. While trying a way to get through it...how clever. In that case...'

She smirked as the flames extinguished, slowly twirling her staff as she went into a defensive stance. 'I'll give what she wants...'

Lucina tilted her head before moving into an offensive stance but she doesn't move. That was...

"Interesting," The Scribe-Enchanter smirked as she narrowed her eyes. "Keeping your distance is a clever idea, but only if you actually know your opponent's range."

Fire sprouts from her hands, then covers her staff. With a twirl, she brings the staff down to the ground releasing three more fire balls. All much larger than the first...she watched the princess dodge one after the other until the last one impacted next to her. Making her fall once more on her side, as well as dropping her blade.

'Let's see how she does without her weapon.' The blue eyed woman smirked as green air swirled around her staff. Then stopped when she felt cold metal press against her neck.

"You know...it's not good to focus your attention on a single person." The voice of Leon reached her ears. "You'd lose track of what's around you...but that's what I've seen with you anyway."

'How did...of course...he snuck around us when I was focused on the princess.' She mentally scolded herself for making such a mistake. 'But I'll quickly correct this...'

"Interesting..." She whispered as a small smirk grew upon her lips. Letting the air around her staff dissipate while willing her mana to the next step. "I figured you would rush in and try to defend her like a valiant hero. But instead you chose this course of action..."

"Heh, yeah I'm not that much of a dumbass," He said. "...It's over now...we win."

"Were it so easy." Before he could even respond, she unleashes a cyclone of air around her, pushing him away. The air quickly lessened but can still be seen rotating around her.

Nai smirked as she turned around, he was on his back and staring at her in shock. His blade laid in front of him...though it's tip was stained with a familiar color. Slowly, she reached for the spot where she felt the cold metal. The feeling of warm liquid spreads across her hand, she didn't need to look to know what it was.

'Must have grazed me when he was pushed back.' She thought as she instinctively willed her mana to her palm. 'It's nothing I can't handle.'

Slowly she felt a familiar comforting warmth on her neck as she willed her mana. When she was done, the air rotating around her became more visible.

"Not bad, but sadly I'm just getting started." She smirk, oh she's definitely gonna conscript him as an apprentice. As he has caught her attention...

"Scribe-Enchanter!"

Once more on instinct, the Scribe-Enchanter turns as raises her staff. The princess was standing in front of her, the Falchion was in her hands and posed in front of her.

The blue eyed woman couldn't help but smirk as she twirled her staff. Slowly dissipating the air and letting her staff burst into flames once more.

'This is really getting fun, okay how about I try this...' She thought as she casted a fireball at the time child. Then did a small spin before releasing a stream of fire from her staff.

Lucina rolled and dodged the flames but refused to be moved back as she charged forward. The redhead jumped to the side as she prepared another spell.

"Okay...that's enough!" A sudden cry and a blade of wind interrupts her concentration.

Swearing under her breath, she casted a wall of air around her. Rendering the blade of winds impact to nothing more than a push. Not that it had much force to begin with...as the mage knew who it was.

"It's over, Nai." As cliche as it was, she hears a certain battlemage's voice.

Quietly she turned to see Midori glaring at her with her arms crossed. Needless to say that she looked displeased...interesting.

"Of course you'd be the one interrupting," The Scribe-Enchanter slowly says, before clicking her tongue. "Though what reason do you have to ruin my fun?"

She enjoyed the way her fellow mage narrowed her eyes. Not that she'll admit to it...it was rather cute.

"They won fair and square," She slowly said as she adjusted her glasses. "So stop being a sore loser about it..."

'Of course she'll try to be fair,' The redhead thought. "Alright but I must speak with the young man_...privately."_

"And you would phrase it like that..." The scythe user sighed as she shook her head. "Fine then, I'll talk with Marth."

And with that the Scribe-Enchanter dissipated the air in front of her. Before anything else could be said, she moves to grab the young man and drags him away. Ignoring whatever protesting the princess or the possible apprentice may be saying.

All and all, this outcome has satisfied her...

* * *

Okay, what the hell just happened!?

Other than Midori stopping Nai from possibly burning Lucina and me accidentally cutting Nai's neck. Which was by complete accident! That freaking spinning wall of air thing caught me by surprise! Though I should have guessed something like would've happened. I knew something was wrong the second the air around her staff dissipated.

Dammit, I'm such a dumbass to fall for that cliche trick...

Anyway, after deciding to not verbally protest anymore. I quietly followed Nai, to where? No idea cause I felt that asking was a bad idea...I'm such a coward. Lucina seemed like she wanted to follow after us, but Midori quickly stopped her. She said something that made the princess reluctantly stay back.

"And we're here..." The blue eyed woman said, bringing back from my thoughts. "Please step inside and we can talk..."

With a hesitant gulp, I follow through a door and into...whoa.

Slowly I entered a room that was filled with books...lots of books. Seriously it's looks like a mini library...

"Impressed?" Nai asked as she gestured the collection. "It's not much compared to the grand library in the second wall, but it helps."

"So...why exactly am I here?" I asked, glancing at few tomes. Even though I can't read what's written on the titles.

"A place where we can have some privacy..." She answers while setting staff down. "As I suspect you have some questions..."

Figures...

"Would you like some tea?"

"Um no thanks...can we start with the basics?" I asked as she brought up a chair and motioned me to sit down. "Though I honestly don't know what to ask..."

"Then how about this...I ask you a few questions then you ask me some." She offered as she sat down in a chair in front of me.

I merely nodded...okay, let's get this over with.

Quietly, Nai folds her hands. "So then if you're comfortable with answering, what was the last thing you remembered before waking up in this world? As well as where did you wake up?"

"Um...all I remember is going to bed then suddenly waking in a random snowy forest. Which happened to be in Regna Ferox...west of the western capital."

"Interesting..." I hear her mutter before resting a hand on her chin. "What happened then, anything worth noting?"

By reflex I gulped, "Well...some time after that...I wandered around...then had a run in with a Risen..."

She rose an eyebrow but remained quiet.

"Long story short, I was saved by...Lucina...she happened to be nearby. Heh...lucky me..."

"I see...that's rather interesting...did anything else happen?"

Again, I gulped. "Shortly after that...we encountered something different..."

"The Risen Bear...yes I know about that," She says. "Jason had told me while he directed Anna to...accompany you. Jon had told him about it as he had heard it from Midori."

That...makes sense...figures Midori would tell Jon...

"So you also know about that damn wolf..." I muttered, despite never actually seeing it in the first place. Which is good since I would've been scared shitless...not kidding.

"Anyway, why you asking these questions?" I asked, slowly leaning to the side. "And please don't try to play me like the others have been doing...really getting tired of it."

"Heh, it would be rude to do that..." The red haired woman chuckled. "In truth I'm trying to see if there's a connection between all that are like us."

"What do you mean?"

"Well like you, with the exception of Midori and Suki, the rest of us had awoken in this world in various locations. While the exact locations won't be specified because that is their choice to revival such things. I however will just say like the rest, woke up alone in an unexpected location."

Okay...guess I shouldn't pry on the specifics...even though I want to know them. Dammit...

"So minus the two names mentioned, the rest of you woke up alone in different locations..." I practically repeated what was said. "So...was this at various times? Like one after the other or were they random?"

Cause she's obviously recording when and where someone arrived. Is there a connection between all of us? But I don't know any of them...

"Yes...mostly it was both." She said as she sighed. "In terms of order...it was Jon, me, Jason, Suki and Midori who arrived at the same time, and finally Edward. While chronological, it's not listed by those who were found. Which is a bit different..."

So it took them time to find each other...makes sense, I didn't know there were others until I encountered Jason.

"I'm guessing there's more to that..."

"Yes, which leads to my next question." Nai said as she laid back on her chair. "What were the items that were on you when you first woke up? Other than your clothes...as everyone woke with something they know they did not put on."

Huh?

"Oh, a journal, a couple of mechanical pencils, and a few lead containers." I listed off. "Is this important somehow?"

"Yes, what ever brought us here...for some reason we were given some form of item." She said as she looked like she was deep thought. "Jon with his sword...Jason's coin...Suki with her feathered pen...Edward's damnable necklace...Midori's ring...and my-"

She quickly shook her head, "No it can't possibly be some form preparation. Not with the selection of items presented...was it random or some other kind of purpose?"

"Um, wait a second...everyone else had something on them?"

The Scribe-Enchanter widened her eyes and looked right at me. Which was making a bit uncomfortable since it felt like she was analyzing every part of me. And here I thought Robin was bad...

"Why did you get more items then the rest of us?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "The rest of us only got one item, but you get a few..."

"Huh? Um...I don't know." I shrugged nervously. "Maybe because I need something to actually write in the journal?"

"Were that the case, then Suki would've gotten something to write with her pen." She said as she laid her head against her palm. "Strange...perhaps it is nothing...at least as of now."

She sighed as she tilted her head. "Alright my last question of the day, actually it is more of a request."

"What is it?"

"I wasn't lying when I said that I wanted to make you my apprentice." She slowly says. "As you are technically a blank slate, and learn whatever skills can be offered. Provided if the training is effective...so would you consider this offer? As you do have potential to wield magic, and as your teacher I can have you learn on how to wield it effectively."

Well...that's something you don't hear everyday...guess my childhood dreams of casting fire and thunder might come true.

But in seriousness...this really something to think about. If I accept, I'll have to balance learning magic, with swords and tactics. Which would will take a lot time either way, and as Nai said herself...I only have a month before I actually know if I can use spells.

If I accept, then I have access to a bunch of advantages. Possibly knowledge of this world's history on magic, weaknesses and strengths of mages. As well as a possibility of other things I might not know about...the only down side is...I might need to abandon Lucina.

If accepted...then most likely I'll be forced to stay here...while Lucina needs to keep watch of her father. Which means that even if she does stay, she'll have to leave by herself when future events happen. She'll be all alone doing whatever she is doing...which is just...sad. I...can't bring myself to do that to her. But if I choose to stay with her, then my ability to learn will be greatly hindered. If I choose that, then I'll still be a burden to her...which is just as bad as leaving her by herself.

Dammit, why is hard to make choices like these? Why can't I just reload my last save in case I made the wrong choice...dammit. Great, I'm actually becoming attached to that stubborn princess...which is a bad thing. Still...have no choice...damn my own stubborn loyalty...

"I'm sorry Nai, your offer is tempting and all." I slowly say. "But I had made an arrangement with Lucina, one that I cannot break. Besides she's...a friend and it's wrong of me to just leave her like that..."

"So it is true that she is assisting you in training then..." The Scribe-Enchanter muttered as she sounded a little disappointed. "And I hoped that Jason was exaggerating."

Again, not surprised that it was that asshole.

"Well then we should head back..." She slowly stood from her chair. "As it'll be a rather long day..."

With that I silently followed after her. It really is going o be a long day isn't it?

* * *

Suki was relieved...really relieved.

She was growing a little worried when she saw Nai-chan unleash her wind barrier. At least the lowest level she could do...she didn't want to think what would have happened if Nai-chan had became serious. She does have so much experience from being in this world for so long. Almost as long as Jon...just a single year difference.

The crafter shook her head, which drew the attention of the person next to her.

Lucina..._THE _Lucina, one of her most favorite characters in any game series. Who wields one the most legendary of swords...the Falchion! A blade that she's been dreaming to get her hands on! Her head is filled with so many questions.

How sharp can it be and what material can't it cut through? What kind of metal is it composed of? If the legends are true and it was once a tooth...how strong was the original tooth? Can all of Naga's teeth turn into swords or various weapons? If she were able to get a hold of it...then how can she use it effectively?

She can't wield swords because she's training for a different set of weapons. So can she make a replica of it? Similar in it's durability and sharpness? There are enchantments that boost the sharpness and durability of a bladed weapon. But they only last for so long...unlike the holy blade's duration of a thousand years...

So many questions but she cannot answer any of them because she doesn't have the blade. She was tempted to ask the princess if she could at least hold it. So she can at least get the feeling of it's weight and see it's fabled identification lock were true. If it was then the crafter would not be able to harm herself with it...as she does not have a single drop of exalted blood.

Perhaps she should wait until Jon comes up with a way for her to join the Shepherds. That's if she can make it in the first place, either way she can possibly ask/beg Chrom to see his version of the legendary blade. If the prince is reluctant then she can employ her Onee-chan to assist her. She always had a way of scaring men...

Like the story she told her when she scared the great knight Frederick. It did involve with his infamous training session, something about using buckets of ice water against him. Though her Onee-chan wouldn't give her the full story...saying that it is too inappropriate for her 'young' little sister.

Despite the crafter being eighteen years of age, and about to turn nineteen in a few months! She wasn't a child for goodness sake!

Wait, where was she? Oh right, figuring out a way to get the Falchion. She could just ask Lucina...but would that work?

'Oh, why couldn't this be simple!' She thought as she visibly pouted. 'I want to make a legendary weapon too...still need to think of a name though...'

"Um...are you alright?" A soft voice rips her from her thoughts.

Quietly, Suki inched her head to see that the princess was staring at her. She didn't expect her to say anything...or sound a bit nervous.

"W-what do you mean?" The crafter asked as she forced a smile. "I'm perfectly fine..."

"It...didn't seem that way earlier." The sword-princess/Kenki said as she tilted her head. "You were...upset about something...may I ask why?"

That was...really unexpected...

"Oh...well...you see..." Suki nervously put her hands together.

Lucina silently stared at her, patiently waiting for a response.

'...Might as well try it...' She thought as she let out a sigh. "It has to do with that sword of your's. Well not your sword specifically...just the one it's based off of."

The Kenki didn't say anything which made her a bit nervous.

"You mean to say the Falchion?" She asks after a minute of silence. With the obvious note of caution...

Needless to say that it made Suki a much more nervous...

"Um...well...yes." She looked away for a second before looking back. "I...heard so many stories and legends about the blade...too many to count. They say so many things about the Falchion, it's sharpness that cuts through steel like it was nothing more than wood. It's durability to survive a century worth of time. I wanted see if it was true myself..."

The crafter shook her head, "No...it's because of stories and legends like that. I always wanted to make something unique myself, to have it spark it's own to legends. To inspire others to create their own wonderful little things themselves...but..."

The light-purple haired girl blushed as she realized what she was saying. Why does she always get carried away like that!?

"U-um, well that doesn't matter..." She tried to wave off. "I-I mean...I'll never be able to see or even hold such a blade...especially since it belongs to...that prince."

She could practically feel the possible eye narrowing the princess was probably giving her. She said the wrong thing again didn't she?

"...You speak of Chrom?" The Kenki asked as she tilted her head once more. "Why do you believe that you'll never see the Falchion because of him?"

"Um...I...isn't it obvious?" Suki stated instead of ask as she released a defeated sigh. "I'm...just-"

"An adorable darling of a little sister!" She was interrupted by her Onee-chan...Midori.

The battlemage smirked at them while holding a sheathed sword. Specifically the one Leon had dropped...

"Well the sword is all clean and good." She stated as she handed said weapon to the crafter. "So when Nai is eventually done with our little baka, you can give it back to him."

"Oh, did you-"

"Yes, I cleaned it thoroughly...twice." Her Onee-chan rolled her eyes. "I give my scythe the same treatment, especially since you made it."

The light-purple haired girl smiled a little then nodded. Silently thankful that she showed up when she did, who knows how bad it could've gotten...

"So then what were you talking about?" And now it seems it will be something much worse...

"Oh...u-uh...nothing!" Suki nearly yelled, then mentally scolding herself for speaking so quickly. "Nothing...important..."

The scythe user rose an eyebrow, "Nothing, eh? Alright then..."

She smiled as she gently rubbed the crafter's head.

* * *

"Say Marth, can I ask you something?" Midori slowly lifted hand from her little sister's head. Who tried to hide the disappointed look on her face.

Said princess looked but stayed silent.

"Once you get whatever answers your looking for..." The scythe user started to say, her face completely serious. "How long do you plan to stay? As it would be...a bit sad if you leave a bit too quickly..."

"...I..." Lucina started to say, sounding a bit hesitant. "I'm not sure..."

"Wait...you're gonna leave?" Suki asked innocently. "But your're our Kenki-uh I mean...um..."

"...Kenki? What does-"

Whatever the time child was going to say was cut off by Midori's sudden burst of laughter.

"K-kenki!? Really little sis, you're going to call her that?" She asked as she tried to control herself. "Isn't Senki is more appropriate?"

"But Kenki works because she has a sword." Her little sister reasoned, her face covered by an obvious blush.

"True..." She couldn't help but agree as she looked at said Kenki. "Anyway...Kenki means...nah, I won't say the exact definition. You're gonna have to ask Leon about that, though he might not know. If that's true, don't worry it's not a insult, just know that it means something special. At least for us..."

The princess stared at her, like she wanted to something but was torn about it.

"So Suki, how's your little project coming along?" The battlemage asked, deciding to change topics. "And I mean the one for you, not the untold number of things you got piled up."

"Oh, it's almost finished but I need to adjust somethings." Her little sis answers, slowly bringing the sword she was holding closer to her chest. "First I need to calibrate it, make some new gears cause the other ones broke from the pressure. Since the metal was cheaply made...forge a new stock, grip and improve the weight so I might need to remake it with lighter materials."

"Wait, didn't you already remade it?"

She sighed before nodding, "Yes, but I messed up on the a few things. It was easier making Edward's since it was on a smaller scale. Plus I have to design and forge my backup weapon..."

"I still hold the offer to assist you Suki." The voice of Nai reaches them, making them all turn to look.

The Scribe-Enchanter was approaching them, the little baka was trailing behind her.

"I know Nai-chan, but I want to do it myself." Suki said as she slowly got up. "Though I will ask for some advice if I need to..."

Nai smirked at that as she spared a quick glance at Midori. To which she did her best to ignore it. She swears that that mage enjoys getting under her skin.

'Since she's such a sadistic masochistic..." She mentally shook her head. 'No I shouldn't start getting annoyed by her. She's about to answer some of Lucina's and possibly Leon's questions. So as much as I want to glare daggers at her, I have to help...'

With that...she patiently awaited for the Enchanter to speak.

* * *

"I know I said that I'll lessen the waiting time," Nai said as she folded her arms together. "And I will answer any questions you have...just not today."

The princess glared at her, while seeming to do her best to not say anything.

"Because I have a request to ask of you..." She continues, which made the princess lessen the glare a little. "I want to assist you in your training of Leon."

"What...makes you believe I'm assisting him in that?" Lucina asked, sounding a little hesitant.

That made Nai smirk, "I was informed of such things from Jason. Naturally I didn't believe him until your reaction just now."

She noticed the time child's hand twitch a little. An interesting sign, was it annoyance or another emotion?

"As I said before, I was interested in making him my apprentice," She said as she tilted her head. "He had declined my offer, but since he is one of our kind. It is important to help him learn to defend and survive."

"In order to do this," She continued with a sigh. "I ask for you to hold your questions for sometime. Which would be a wiser course of action as Jon would likely return within a span of a week. Though that is contrary to what I had said earlier."

"So you basically bluffed Marth and I into fighting you..." The young man stated, though putting more emphasis on 'Marth'. "Should've seen that coming..."

"Yes, and I apologize for that...it was selfish of me to do that."

"More like unnecessary...I lost twenty gold to Jason." She heard Midori comment, but chose to ignore it.

"I...understand." Lucina said, reluctance was evident in her voice. "I'll...wait for Jon to return."

"Thank you..." Nai said as she did a polite bow. "As for you Leon..."

The young man cringed a little when his name was mentioned. "Um, yes?"

"I'm curious...what profession or class as some of us would call it, are you interested in?"

"Oh right, forgot to tell you..." Midori cuts off Leon before he could even speak. "Leon here is apparently training to be a tactician..."

A few of seconds of silence passed, then quietly Nai let out a giggle which quickly turned into full blown laughter.

"Hehe...of course it had to be that." She said as she forced herself to calm down. "Alright then, starting tomorrow I'll have a training regiment prepared. Until then just do whatever for the rest of the day..."

Without even waiting for a possible response, she turns to leave to her room. As the desire for a nap steadily grew within her. But not until she observes what happens next...

* * *

Well that happened...great I'm being used as an excuse to not give answers. Granted that I do need the help...but it just sucks...

"Um, Leon?"

Huh?

I turn to see Suki holding a familiar looking sword. "Oh, what is it?"

"Here..." She says as she holds out the blade to me. "I had Onee-chan clean it, so it should be good to go."

"Oh...thanks..." I say as I took the sword away from her. "Sorry...about dropping it."

"It's alright, you were fighting against Nai-chan." She giggled. "So she was bound to beat the both of you. She really is that strong..."

"Not as strong as me..." I hear Midori mutter. "I can still take her on..."

"So...you're trying to be a tactician?" The light-purple haired girl asked. "That's...pretty cool..."

"It's...not as good as some would put it..." I muttered as I rubbed the back of my head. "It's a little different and difficult..."

"Oh? Well I'm sure with some practice you'll be fine." She said as she smiled at me. Which was kinda cute...dammit.

"Um...thanks." I did my best not to blush.

Suddenly someone grabs and pulls me away from my spot.

"T-the hell!?" I turn to see that Lucina was pulling me. Great...the hell I do now?

Quietly and quickly she pushes me back into the sparring zone/range.

"M-marth!? What's wrong?" I asked as I watch her draw the Falchion out.

"It's time for your lessons..." She says, her voice sounding annoyed. She moves into an offensive stance. "As you're in _dire_ need of them."

"Wait a-"

She charges at me, barely giving me a chance dodge a strike. She doesn't hesitate as she slashes at me again. I raised the sheathed sword in time to block it, but the force pushes me back.

Dammit, she putting for force into it then she normally does. Just the hell is with her!? Well screw it...

I quickly sidestepped, letting move past me right into my extended leg. She didn't seem to react fast enough as she just trips and stumbles on to the ground.

"Don't know what the hell is with you..." I said as pointed the sword at her. "But if you just want to beat the living hell out of me. I'm not going to make it easy..."

Empty words...but whatever is making her act like this...I'm going make her answer. Even it means playing a little dirty...

The princess gritted her teeth once more as she stood up. She thrusts her sword at me, but I parried it and push her back. She stepped back before slashing at me which I was able to block. Then kick her in the stomach which forced her back.

Okay, what the hell!? I'm actually doing a decent job!

Something is really messing with her. Her attacks feel strong but their sloppy when compared to her normal attacks. Which I felt and seen plenty of times...she's...frustrated...but on what? Me? The current situation? Or something else entirely?

Dammit...whatever it is...I won't be able to get her talk right now. Have to do that when we're alone...until then...gonna have to get my ass kicked. Only choice I have really...don't know what else to do.

I sighed as I slowly unsheathed the steel sword Suki gave me. Great...if I'm lucky then I'll probably walk away from this with only a few 'minor' injuries...

* * *

Nai narrowed her eyes as she watched the two trade attacks. For the time after the young man unsheathed his weapon. She noticed that the time child's attacks became a little less sloppy.

It was as she expected, Lucina was frustrated of not gaining any information. So as a result she's using her 'apprentice' as a punching bag so to speak, in order to deal with it. At least that seems to be going on...

Whatever the case, it made the Scribe-Enchanter feel a _small _sting of guilt. It isn't...right to mess with a person in such a way. No matter the need of it...

She watched the princess block a strike before thrusting at her opponent. Her 'apprentice' dodged before performing one of his own.

'He's been mimicking her to a certain extent.' The red haired woman thought. 'Either when he thrusts or parries, he does a poor version of the princess's. Interesting...would he do that if Jason, Jon, or possibly Edward started giving him lessons? Would he do that if I start teaching him magic?'

She shook her head, it wasn't the time for her to think of that. At least until the inevitable event when the young man's mana starts to become active.

Though hopefully, she'll be there to help him control it...or else he and anyone around him will become injured. It was the same for Midori, Edward and herself...they unleashed an involuntary burst of mana when their reserves started to settle. Each one did harm themselves and others...no matter what was done.

'Until then, I'll have to patiently wait.' She thought as she crossed her arms. 'Hope this ends soon...really want that nap.'

**_Shink!_**

Lucina blocked the young man's attack, she kicks him in the mid-section and pushes him away. He stumbles a little before kneeling down on a single knee. He tries to get up but falls down once again.

'Guess I didn't have to wait...' The blue eyed woman thought. 'That's his limit of endurance, so I'll have to adjust my regiment to that. Along with certain knowledge he needs.'

Concluding with a nod, she turned to leave. Not even bothering to watch that battlemage and Suki help the young man.

* * *

_The day has passed by really quickly, guess since nothing else dramatic had happened._

_After getting the crap beaten out of me, Lucina had stated that the lesson was over. Midori and Suki were able to help me up, long story short and one heath potion later. I was recovering smoothly...really wondering how these things are made. Home could really use them..._

_Anyway, Lucina went into her room after seeing that I was alright. While I just had a few casual chats with the other two outrealmers/outerrealmers. _

_Nothing really important was brought up..._

What the hell am I even doing...

I sighed as I closed the journal and looked forward. The door to the princess's room...been sitting in front of it for sometime now. Been working the nerve to knock on it...and failing miserably. Mostly because I have no idea what to say...so it makes me just sit outside like a damn dog in the rain. Waiting hopelessly for it's master's return...damn.

Why am I even here to begin with...

I sighed once more as I shook my head. Now's not the time to think like that. The stupid stubborn princess is in there being a complete moron. You called yourself her friend...so actually do something that a so called 'friend' would do! If not you then who the hell will!?

Quietly, I put away the journal and moved to the door. After a few seconds of hesitating, I knock on the door.

"Marth...can I come in?"

"...Yes." A barely audible answer was heard.

With some nervousness, I open the door and enter the room. Allowing me to see that the princess was sitting on her bed. Her mask was still on but she was staring out of her room's window. Watching the sunlight go away I guess...

Dammit, getting a familiar feeling...this just like when I tried to talk to her in Regna Ferox. Only that I'll probably make things wor-NO stop thinking negatively!

"I...wanted to talk." I say as I close the door behind me. Ensuring that we had some privacy. "About today..."

She doesn't react at all, just continue to stare out the window.

So she's going to be like that...

"Look..." I start to say as I put my back against the door. "It's really clear that something is really bothering you. I don't know what it is, I would ask but I get the feeling that you won't tell me because it's...something important and private. And I shouldn't force you to discuss it...that I understand that."

I shook my head, "Still...like I told you many times...if you ever need help or someone to talk to. My offer still stands..."

"I'll...leave you alone." After a few minutes of silence, I turn to open the door. Dammit, I made a mistake of trying this again didn't I?

"...Wait." The princess's voice literally makes my hand hover over the handle. So freaking cliche...

I turn to see that she was looking at me.

"...Why?" She slowly asks. "Why are you being so kind to me? Especially because of my...recent behavior to you?"

That's...a little off...

"I...like I told you before," I slowly answer. "You're my friend...and I was taught to take care and cherish them. I'm sure that's a bit strange to you..." Because I just kinda stole that from every Anime ever, my bullshit cannot be more real.

"I...see." She says as she looks down. "My mother...taught me something similar to that."

Her...mother?

"She...sounds like a good person." I say as I found myself leaning against the door again. "Anyway, how about we forget about this for now? How about I tell you of some other story or something?"

"...I wouldn't mind it." Shit, I had hoped that she'll won't take the offer. Still, whatever helps cheer her up. Even though it somewhat contradicts what I was about to do a minute before.

"Okay then," I say as I pull up a chair to sit in front of her. "Instead of the story of Lawrence and Holo...how about something a bit different. Oh, I know!."

I put my two hands together as I let out a breath. Okay here goes...have to change somethings for simpleness sake.

"In a world known as Gameindustri, there are four nations that reside in it. Within each of them, a goddess or CPU as they call themselves, rule over them. There was Lowee the land of white serenity, ruled by CPU White Heart. Leanbox the land of fantasy and myth, ruled by CPU Green Heart. Lastatsion the nation of industry, ruled by CPU Black Heart. And finally, there was Planeptune the land of progress, ruled by the one and only...CPU Purple Heart..."

* * *

**A/N: Apologies for the delay, but things have been incredibly busy for me. So it was difficult to get somethings done, plus it didn't help that I rewrote this chapter a few times.**

**Anyway, if I don't post another chapter, Happy Holidays and New Years! Hopefully I can use the time to get some stuff written down.**

**As usual, read, review, or look for a much better fic than this. As I'm sure there are plenty...**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Squadpunk 2.0:**** Yeah, let's hope that Leon will survive any wrath that falls upon him. **

**Victory3114: **** Well that's a bit...interesting. Currently imagining Lucina doing a transformation sequence...which is funny. **

**Anyway, I understand what you mean. It hasn't been shown whether or not Leon has had an influence or has done anything. All I can say is that sometimes you won't know if your actions has an effect right away. Sometimes you can only wait to see what happens in the future, even if it takes a little while. Which kinda sucks now that I think about it...*Sighs* Oh well, have to work with what I got.**

**Thanks, been thinking of doing that for a while now. Still...I could only guess on how she would react to certain ones. Whether it be the question of it being wrong to pick up girls in ****dungeons. Or what you had mentioned...but I can agree that it can help develop her character. But by how much is unknown...**

**Magic based weaponry mixed in with modern science!? Blasph-just kidding...that would be awesome...let's just hope that Suki doesn't go overboard...even though she might...I'll end with that.**

**TheSilentCholey: **** (Nice name by the way.) ****Thanks, glad to know that your interest has been gained.**

**That's a...possibility...though that current thought may change later...or not. Who knows what would happen...**

**King Keith: Meh, as said before...it's possible that she's feeling that way. But it may just be something else...**

**Thanks, glad to know you like them. Also the idea of both Nai and Frederick tormenting Leon is just hilarious...so yeah they could get along nicely. But it may make a certain battlemage feel a bit ****jelly...**

**And you would call me by that name...meh, was bound to happen...King.**


	19. Chapter 19

**As you might expect, shifts of views within this one.**

* * *

"_I...am the bone of my sward-_"

"Sword. The letter is an O not an A." Nai corrects me, not even looking up from her book. "Try again, next part."

"Fine..._Steel is my ba-body...and Fire is my blood._" I slowly recite, trying my best not to mess up.

"Good, now recite the rest," She instructs as she flipped a page. "I'll correct you if needed."

If you hadn't guessed it, Nai is teaching me how to read this world's written language. Since she said that I'll really need to know it eventually. Which is good since I _really_ want to read the books she has. There are so many...damn my love for reading.

Anyway, the language itself is not that complicated, it's a bunch of symbols. At least what they look like to me, that happen to use same positions in the English alphabet. Only that some of the symbols tend to look a little a bit the same. So I kinda mix them up once and a while...still, it feels like one of those secret codes. At least for me that is...

"_My whole...life...was unlimited blade warc-"_

"Works. You mixed the O and A's again, plus the K and the C's." She says as she flips another page. "Other than that, you're doing good. Not bad for just starting out."

"Since it's a little similar to English, that helps me a lot..." I muttered as I gently rubbed my eyes. "Though we've been doing this for a few hours...wouldn't mind a break."

"Don't enjoy reading?" She asked as she closed her book. "I figured you liked to read since you've been at this for those number of hours."

I merely chuckled as I flipped a page on the book I was holding.

Currently, we're in that mini-library Nai showed me the other day. I was brought in for some needed lessons, while Lucina was pulled away by Suki and Midori. Don't really know what the crafter and battlemage wanted with her. She's probably being awkward to the Neptunia fan. Who's just being friendly and cute...

Dammit, I did it again didn't I? Well at least it I'm not thinking of a certain violet-eyed beauty. Crap...now the image of Robin is filling my head, damn this possible crush!

"And now you're blushing...interesting." The Scribe-Enchanter's voice fills my ears. "Care to explain?"

"I-it's nothing." I shook my head as I looked at her. "Just a random little thought...so is there anything else to teach me today?"

"Nothing combat related, since you do need some rest." She sighed, sounding disappointed somehow. "It would be rather dull to just conclude it now. Though I'll have to make a translation list for you to have, since we're just covering the basics."

"Then how about...some questions?" I suggested as I closed my book. "Kinda want to ask somethings..."

She smirked as she leaned against her palm. "Oh? And what would you ask of me?"

"I...remember you said something about finding evidence of others like us." I begin to say. "What exactly did you mean by that?"

Once more she smiled at me before getting up.

"Well it was eventual for you to find out, might as well tell you now." She said as she motioned me to follow her.

Quietly, I put the book down and followed after her.

We stop at a table, which like some of the other ones were stack with books. How did they manage to get this much anyway? Weren't books difficult to come by in medieval times? Or is it a little bit easier in this world? They do have magic after all...wouldn't surprised if there's a magical version of the printing press.

"Now where did I put it?" The Scribe-Enchanter muttered as her finger hovered over some of the books. "Ah, there it is..."

She grabs one of the thick looking books. "It's not complete, but it's a more or less written history of the times of the Hero-King."

"Hero...King?" I asked. "You're talking about Marth right?"

"Yes," She nodded as she open the book and flipped through a few pages. "While it's been a thousand or so years, and goodness knows that era's such as these tend to exaggerate a lot. This _somewhat_ tells a manner of truth, though you have to-ah here it is."

"There are many tales to say of the Hero-King's companions, but there is only one that draws_ our _attention." She says as her finger slides along the text. "In here, tells a small story, or rather a mention of the Hero-King's companions. While the some is your typical propaganda, a single thing sticks out. That is the mention of the word Outrealmer or Outerrealmer as Jason insists to say."

With a sigh and a pause he hand begins to glow before the book does as well. Within a second, she let's it go and it just hovers there in the air.

The hell?

"I'll explain that in a moment," She said as she crossed her arms. "Anyway as I was saying, along with the mention of the word there is a short written account of the Hero-King knowing a strange person. This person, with no mention of name or gender, is said to have befriended the Hero-King. As terribly vague as that can be..."

I see where this is going...

"This person, this Outrealmer as they call this person, is said to have supposedly assisted Marth. By the mentioning accurate hints of future events...you understand where I'm going with this?"

I nodded, "You believe that this is most likely evidence that people from our home end up here. But not in one particular time line, but multiple ones as well."

"Correct," She said as she smirked. "While no true accurate account exists, the sheer mention of that particular word and so called 'hints' of future events. Is proof enough for me, there should be more to it but sadly...time and human ignorance were not so kind to such stories."

Not surprised there...we humans can be rather...never mind.

"So there actually may have been others before us." I said as I shudder. "That's...rather scary to think aout. Is there anything else to note?"

"No," The red-haired woman shook her head. "This is the only thing we managed to find that briefly hints of such a thing. The only other chance we have, is in the Ylissean royal library. But anything in there is under guard and locked away. The only chance we have to find any possible further evidence is to join the Shepherds as well as..."

"Gaining the trust of the royalty themselves." I finished as I cross my arms. "Which isn't as easy as it sounds isn't it..."

"Despite his trusting nature, prince Chrom is serious when it comes to his family." She sighed as the hovering book began to twirl. "Something that is rather obvious, but Jon is doing his best on that issue."

"So Jon will just gain the trust the prince," I slowly say. "At least enough so he'll have access to that library, why do I feel like there's more to this?"

"Of course there is...it would be foolish if Jon had joined the Shepherds for that simple purpose." She shook her head. "Anyway, that's one thing out of the way. I'm sure you're still wondering why this book is hovering."

"Um...yeah." I admitted, despite noting the obvious change of subject. "How did you do that? Some sort of spell?"

"Yes and no." She said as the book stopped twirling. "I simply applied my mana into it with that, the book with hover and follow me. At least until I stop supporting it or I run low on mana."

"That's interesting..." I say as my finger poked the floating book. "You thought of this so it'd be easier to move a lot of books?"

"No...this wasn't thought up by me." The Scribe-Enchanter shook her head as the book floated away from me. "This was method used by high level mages. In an attempt to channel multiple spells at once. Even though it's rarely used at all...those arrogant fools."

"Huh?"

"This world is interesting when it comes to the use of magic." She starts to say. "While magic is magic as water is water in this world. For some reason, the magic users of this realm must use a tome or staff to act as a conduit. In order to actually use spells, I haven't heard or read of a recorded account where there was a mage not using a staff or tome."

Okay, that explains what Lucina had said back at the Inn in Regna Ferox. One thing checked off the list...

"So where does that leave us?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "Midori had told me that it has something to do with our bodies at least something like that."

"That's the interesting part," Nai smirked as the book moved at landed on her open hand. "As it seems, we can use magic without the need for tomes or staffs. As our bodies seem to be conduits themselves. I use a staff out of choice if you start wondering about that."

That's...interesting.

"So we're living batteries or something?"

"That's one way of putting it. It's possible the reason for that may be because we are unnatural to this world." She continues as she closed the book and placed it on the desk. "With that, we somehow can manipulate the mana inside of our bodies. But that only works if it's provided the essential nutrients to help it grow..."

"Grow?" Come to think of it, I didn't see Jason or Jon using magic. Is it by choice, or something else? "Like watering a plant so to speak?"

"Similar to that, yes." The red-haired woman said as she held out her hand. A small flames flickered to life at the tips of her fingers. "It is both a necessity and a form of limitation. Our kind needs to be exposed to a certain level of mana, in order to even consider having a chance to use it."

"Why? Our bodies can't produce mana naturally?" I asked. "Unless that is the case, and being exposed to mana...helps kick start the whole thing in some way?"

"More or less," She said as she crossed her arms. "When we're exposed to mana for so long and/or a number of times. Our bodies just kinda adapt to it...I have no real idea how this really works. I can only explain what I can guess and have seen."

Figures...so that means me being healed by Lucina helped that move along. Since her Falchion is a magical blade, and I've been healed by it more than once. Wonder how much mana does it take to actually start the whole thing? Guess it was enough for me...but what about the others?

"Still, it is interesting." She continued as the flame extinguished. "We come from a place where there is no known form of magic. Yet we are capable of manipulating a form of it here. Perhaps there was a limit of some sort back home..."

"Wouldn't be surprised," I shrugged. "That or it's being kept secret, like in Fate/stay night." Why did she make recite the Unlimited Blade Works chant anyway? Not like we'll suddenly appear in a reality marble...would have been cool though...

"However there's another thing you should know."

"What is it?"

Nai narrowed her eyes as her face become serious. "There's another limit for us when using magic. We call it 'Mana Exhaustion', it's something that occurs when we use too much mana. As the name implies, not only does it tire us out but it causes...side effects."

Side effects?

"What exactly are these side effects?" I asked.

"We tend to display these symptoms; coughing up blood, nosebleeds, and migraines." She listed off with a sigh. "While thankfully it doesn't seem to lead into lethal levels, the process does leave us vulnerable. If we continue to use mana in this state, the symptoms become much worse and our spells are powerless."

"Worse how?"

"The increase in blood loss, and migraines." She says before sighing again. "And in my case as well as Midori's, unconsciousness for a day to a week."

The hell!?

"You ended up like that..." I slowly say in shock. "All from overusing your mana?"

"Yes," She nodded. "Which is why I'm giving you this fair warning now rather then later. When you eventually unlock the use of mana, do not over do it. You may be bring yourself harm as well as anyone around you. Do you understand?"

"R-right..." I slowly answered. Damn, those are some limits, I better watch myself if I'm forced into a situation like that. Also she said 'when' instead of if...

"Now that is dealt with," Nai said as she rubbed the back of her neck. "That's enough teaching from me for today, we should see Jason. He said that he wanted you to learn somethings...whatever they are."

I merely nodded as I follow her out.

* * *

"You ready Marth?"

The princess only nodded as she moved into an offensive stance. Though instead of the Falchion, she was holding a wooden sword. The holy blade was still strapped to her side. Something she insisted on...

Suki could only watch in anticipation as the tip of her feathered pen hovered over her paper. Ready to be used by it's master...

'Hopefully I brought enough Ink wells,' She thought as she waited patiently. 'One should be enough, though three might have been better. At least I have enough paper...'

She took a breath as she leaned her head forward. 'I hope I don't miss anything. Especially Lucina's move set...can't make that set of schematics for her if I do.'

The crafter's plan was simple, watch Lucina face off against her Onee-chan in order to get some needed notes. Notes that can be used to eventually create schematics for; armor, spare weapons or other things for not only the time child. But for everyone else as well, though that depends on what she can get from this fight.

'Still can't believe that Lucina agreed to this,' She thought as she did her best to hold back her excitement. Otherwise she'll mess up her hand writing. 'Even though I technically didn't tell her I'd be recording her instead of Onee-chan...I feel a little bad. At least this will help her a little when it comes to fighting magic users.'

"Aright..." Midori said she twirled her weapon, a wooden scythe, carved in the same specification as her normal one. "Let's go!"

With that, the princess charged her wooden blade aimed for her opponent's chest. The scythe user smirked as she blocked it with a twirl. She pushes the princess back then strikes her with the flat part of her wooden weapon.

The time child grunted a little as she moved back into a defensive stance.

"Heh," Onee-chan giggled as she twirled her weapon. "Not bad..."

She crouches down for a second before jumping and bringing her weapon in a downward arc. To which the princess blocked, but was pushed back a step. Midori smirked as she quickly pulled the scythe back and hooked it onto her opponent's legs. She pulled forward which made the princess fall on her bottom.

'Onee-chan's not going easy...' Suki thought as she scribbled down her notes. 'Thankfully their weapons are wooden...'

"Not used to scythe users, eh?" Said scythe user adjusted her glasses, watching her opponent get back up. "Not surprised...people actually using this type of weapon is not really that common."

'Doesn't help that she used a dirty move...' The crafter thought, not wanting to spoil the moment. 'But I could use that in my notes...the back of the knees are always vulnerable.'

Lucina said nothing as she tilted her head before moving into another stance.

"Okay, how about this time you watch my moves carefully." Midori suggested as she twirled her weapon once more.

She slowly moved into a defensive stance, then smirked as she nodded to the princess.

The Kenki charges again but stops then jumps to the side. She quickly thrusts her weapon, which is dodged by her opponent.

'So that's how she extends her arm.' Suki noted as she scribbled down more notes. 'Good to know...wonder how good she is with a shield?'

Her Onee-chan dodged a few more strikes before jumping back and swinging her weapon. The princess barely managed to parry it and push it back.

"Not bad Kenki." Midori hummed as she twirled her weapon. "Alright, I'm going to start using magic. Get ready!"

She barely gives time after that warning as her wooden scythe becomes covered by green air. The princess moved into a defensive stance, ready to dodge if needed.

'Magic this early in?' The crafter thought as she payed attention to the wooden scythe. 'Hope she limits her use with that, since that wooden scythe isn't meant for this kind of strain.'

"Alright...try this!" Her Onee-chan yelled, swing her weapon vertically. A large yet thin blade of wind is released from the weapon.

The time child quickly jumped to the side, letting the blade pass by harmlessly.

"Good...though try to block it if you can." The scythe user said as she twirled her weapon. "Get ready for the next few...Cross combo!"

She swung her weapon a few times in different angles, each releasing a thin blade of wind. The princess easily dodged a couple that were in a vertical angle. The last one that was horizontal head towards her in a rabid pace.

As soon as she saw it, she dropped her wooden weapon. Within a few seconds she quickly drew the Falchion and lowered the blade. Letting it make contact with the blade and effectively blocking it. Leaving virtually little harm to it's wielder...

'She really depends on that blade, and is obviously very attached.' Suki noted as she scribbled her last notes. 'That may be bad in the long run, she might have _some_ difficultly if she's ever separated from it. Either way, I have enough notes...'

"Onee-chan, that's enough for today." She says as she carefully folds her notes. "Anymore strain and that wooden scythe of yours will break."

Translation, she's seen enough and wants to go back into her workshop. As well as the scythe actually possibly breaking, since wooden weapons can be so fragile...

"Alright then," Her Onee-chan said as she adjusted her glasses. "Guess that's enough for one exchange."

Lucina said nothing as she slowly put away her weapon.

"Anyway Marth," The scythe user continues. "Can you stay and look after Suki? I have to do a quick check on something..."

"I'm not a child!" Suki quickly yelled, then blushed a little. "Though I could show her some ideas I have...though they're in the idea phase. But...I wouldn't mind some advice..."

"I...alright." The princess reluctantly said, with the subtle hint of nervousness.

Midori nodded in thanks as she turned to leave, leaving the crafter and time child by themselves...

"Um...should we head to the workshop then?" Suki asked, feeling awkward and nervous.

The Kenki nodded and with that the both of them moved from their spot.

* * *

"About time you showed up," Jason said as Nai and I walked into the room.

He was sitting on a chair while next to him was Midori. Who was leaning against a wall, and humming to herself. Wonder why she's here...wasn't she supposed to be with Lucina and Suki?

"Where's Anna? I was under the impression that she would be here as well." Nai asked.

The merchant shrugged, "She's at her other sister's shop. The one in the markets...she said that she wanted to visit her. As well as to discuss some business..."

"I see..." The Scribe-Enchanter said as she sighed. "That's rather unfortunate..."

Jason rolled his eyes, "Oh, stop being dramatic about it, you know I'll tell her about this anyway."

"Oh, you know how Nai is..." Midori stopped humming and crossed her arms. "Still, mind if we get this _secret_ meeting underway? Might as well explain ourselves to the little baka."

"Of course," The red-haired woman agreed before turning to me. "Leon, can you please close the door?"

"Um...sure." I did as asked. Great, as Midori had put it...another _secret _meeting for explaining more stuff...starting to get bor-wait what the hell am I thinking? I actually need to know what they're going on about...

"So what's this about?" I asked as I leaned against the door. "As it's obviously something we don't want 'Marth' to hear."

"You would be right." Nai said as she crossed her arms. "In honesty, it's about you. Specifically, it's about what we should do with you."

Huh?

"What Nai means," Midori starts to say, adjusting her glasses. "Is that we, meaning everyone like us, gets a choice. To either stay and work with us or leave and try to live whatever life they can make in this world. While still being kept in contact, Jon started thinking up this idea after meeting Suki and me."

"Of course none of us had taken that choice..." Jason said before sighing. "And since you have insisted on sticking with that princess. Offering that so called 'choice' is pointless..."

"True, though admittedly he is in a unique position," The Scribe-Enchanter started to say. "We had planned to get involved with the future children when they showed up. But to be dealing with the future princess...that was a bit unexpected."

"Yeah, since none of us expected to interact with her the way we are now." The merchant stated as he rubbed his neck. "This helps but also sets us back. We're going to have to adjust our plans..."

"True, but we also have to consider the chance that the other children may show up earlier than expected."

"Right, Anna can get her-"

"Um, before the two of you get into detail." Midori interrupted, slowly tilting her head. "Can we finish inducting Leon into our little _secretive_ order? Cause that's the reason we're all here...and Suki is distracting Marth which could end in a few minutes."

The two of them stopped then looked at the scythe user before looking back at me.

"Of course," Nai said. "The main point of this was to welcome you into this little 'family' of ours. As well as asking for your assistance for certain manners."

"What form of 'assistance', do you mean?" I asked as I crossed my arms. "You're not asking me to spy on 'Marth' are you?"

"Nah, that's too cliche," Midori waved off as she grinned. "All we were going to ask is that you help her out and stay with her. Which will help all of us out in the long run. Since I'm sure none of us want to be undead slaves to a wannabe god. Unless you actually enjoy that kind of thing...meh, I won't judge."

That's...rather simple way to ask...been honestly getting used to the schemes. Hopefully they'll be a bit more forthcoming in the future...

"I...guess I can do that," I said. "So is there anything else?"

"Not right now," Nai answered before sighing. "If we informed you on everything right now, we would be here for days. Of course not one of us has that much time...besides we still have to train you."

"So other than that, welcome to our _Familia!"_ The scythe user nearly yelled. "Now known as...The VII Hyper-Ultra-Devotion-Dimension Nep Gear U Rebirth Action Fighters!"

Wait...what!? What sort of...oh wait that's a Neptunia style name. Wonder if Neptune will break into this dimension and the fourth wall then sue Midori for that name usage. Would be seriously funny...but I doubt it since she's too lazy to do anything like that...then again she's the queen of randomness and a goddess in her own right. So it might be possible...though I wouldn't mind if two other CPUs joined her. Specifically, Noire and Blanc...those two would make interesting additions. Noire's stereotypical Tsundereness, and Blanc's quiet but do not piss of personality...those two would...

Um...why was I even thinking that in the first place? Damn my love for that series...why wasn't I sent into that dimension? Would've been more fun...at least there I get a better conversation from those characters...unlike that stubborn princess.

I'm doing it again aren't I? Dammit...

"Oh, dear merciful Naga...she's doing it again." Jason muttered/groaned as he covered his face with his hands. "Please anything but those terrible names..."

"Midori for the last time, we do not need to name our little group." Nai said as she narrowed her eyes. "Besides, I believe there are better names...such as Kojima's Loyal Outer Heaven Kitsunes or The Rebels Against The God."

"Nai...first we're not in that world you love so much, so please stop suggesting that particular name." The green eyed woman shook her head. "And second, the other one can be taken the wrong way. People might think we're against Naga! Besides if we choose that name, then we recognize that wannabe god as an actual divine being. Which he is not!"

"True, but if your so insistent on a name." The blue eyed woman tilted her head. "Then do not pick a name from a series only you and Suki know about."

"Correction...me, Suki and _Leon_ know about that series. So that tallies up the vote by one...Blank Nothing."

Why the hell am I getting dragged into this!? When did this even become something to vote on!? Also...I think she just insulted Nai...

"That would make it three against four." Nai narrowed her eyes a little more. Looking deadly serious... "Which means your suggestion is still vetoed. Green eyes..."

"Ah, but that's if everyone else is siding with you." Midori giggled as she lowered her head then adjusted her glasses. "And last I checked, unlike the three of us who are united by my suggestion. The rest of you are divided by your own. Blank...Nothing."

Why does it feel like the room has suddenly dropped a few degrees? My spine is shivering...

"Oh, for the love of Naga," The merchant said as he got up from his chair and headed to me. "We better leave before they get more into it...if not then we'll be caught in the crossfire...literally."

Huh?

"They'll start casting at each other," He said as he pushes me aside. Then quickly opens the door and drags me out with him. "Thankfully not in a lethal manner, but it's best to let them fight it out once and a while. As they tend to act like oil and water...even though their main elements are air and fire."

"Um...good to know...I guess..." I slowly say, still confused by the whole situation. "So what now?"

"You should go check on 'Marth', she may need some help dealing with Suki." He said before turning to leave. "Anyway, if anyone cares to ask, I'll be back by nightfall. Have to deal with Anna's sibling...since we _might_ need some new furniture. And here I thought of a good excuse to stay away..."

He continues on, not even giving me a chance to say anything.

One...two...three...why am I still doing that counting thing?

Might as well check on Lucina and Suki, not gonna be productive standing here.

* * *

"...No."

"Please..."

"...No."

"Oh, please Marth, just for a minute?"

"...No."

Suki pouted as she stood in front of the princess. Who was holding and staring at a schematic, specifically the one that is her mask. She made it a long time ago...of course Lucina doesn't know that.

While she was studying the notes she had made earlier, the princess explored the workshop. Looking at various schematics...as well as some of the drawings she made to pass the time. Most of them were nothing to worry about...as she hid most of the drawings and schematics that were related to the shepherds.

By most, she meant the ones that didn't include said schematic that the princess was holding. Thankfully she was able to play it off by saying that she made it last night on some old paper. She's also thankful that the time child didn't appear to understand English. As it was written in that particular language...

Which is really good, since she had written Lucina's name multiple times on it. Mostly because she was thinking of making a combat oriented version of said mask. Since from what Suki remembered, Lucina had lost her mask because it was cut in half. Which she was lucky it only cleanly hit the mask, since she might have lost an eye or her nose.

If she could at least come up with something...then the princess won't be at risk of getting hurt. Though...no luck in figuring out a solution without turning that mask into a specialized helmet. She has to think of better techniques and find better tools.

But that's for another time...not like she was gonna figure it out by looking at the mask right this instant.

"Oh...fine." Suki finally said as she sighed. "Though...would you like anything custom made? A weapon or a piece of armor?"

"I...have no need for anything right now." The princess answered as she looked at her. "But...thank you for offering..."

"Well...I'm a crafter of sorts." The light purple haired girl said. "It's my job to offer to make something..."

"Do you...often think up such ideas?" Lucina asked as she looked to the other schematics scattered across the workshop.

"More or less yes..." She said as she rubbed her head. "I guess it has to do with me being a Rose..."

The princess looked back her.

The crafter blushed a little when she realized what she said. "Oh...well you see...my name is derived from an old legend."

"Old legend?" The time child asked, sounding really curious.

"Um...well...Oh, Leon over here!" She waved said person over, thankful for his timing.

"Oh, hey Suki...what were you two talking about?" The self proclaimed tactician asked as he approached them.

"N-nothing..." She said a bit too quickly. "I-I mean...I was going to tell Marth about my last name."

"Oh, it was Rose right?"

She nodded. "Yes...and back home there was an old legend...do you know of it? It has the letters...R...W...B...Y."

"R...W...Oh..." He said as his eyebrows rose a little. "I know what you're talking about...with your last name. You're talking about Ruby Rose...right?"

"Yes..." She nodded once again, she was relived that he knew. As well as excited. "Do you remember that...um...well..."

"She was a student," He continued for her, turning his head towards the princess. "At a special academy where people were taught to fight monsters known as Grimm, that held the desire to kill humans."

Lucina tilted her head a little as she stared at him.

"In this legend, it tells not only the story of the Ruby...but others as well. All living within another world...a world known as Remnant. I can tell you the rest of it another time...as the main thing Suki was trying to say was about her last name. Right, Suki?"

"Um...yes..." She slowly answers, as the princess looked at her. She nervously placed her fingers together. "You see...Ruby was a sort of a crafter like me...she had created an incredible weapon. Meant to protect people and those close to her...my name is a sort of thing meant for luck. So whatever I create can protect not only people but also my friends and family."

"I...see." The time child slowly says. "That's...an interesting legend."

"One of so many we have back where we're from." Leon muttered as he let out a tiny chuckle.

"Yeah..." Suki said as she nodded. "So Marth...would you like to see a drawing of Ruby?"

"Do you also have drawings of the rest of her friends?" The brown eyed boy asked. "Might as well show her the rest of the cast..."

"Good idea...follow me." She beamed as they moved to the area that held said drawings.

Needless to say that she was happy about it...

* * *

"Well hello, _Darling!"_ 'Anna' purred as she leaned on her counter. "May I ask what took you so long?"

"Hello, 'Anna'. Where's my wife?" Jason asked as he fought the urge to roll his eyes. "And can you quit with the sweet talk?"

"You're no fun..." 'Anna' playfully pouted as she turned around. "Sis, your husband's here!"

A few seconds later his wife appears from the door behind the 'Anna'.

"Oh, hey honey...something wrong?"

"Nothing just Nai and Midori having their little arguments." He muttered with a sigh. "So we _might_ need some new furniture...but I really doubt it."

"Their at it again?" 'Anna' asked as she leaned against her palm. "Wow Sis, seems like the fun for you is still going. Unlike me...stuck in this boring shop."

"Yeah, but I'm not making as much gold as you." His wife grinned. "Plus you have an actual shop. I'm stuck with a carriage..."

"It may be tradition for our family to set up a permeant shop." 'Anna' starts to say. "But I say our nomad like sisters have it better. Since they profit off anyone anywhere."

"On a good season..." Jason muttered, remembering one time were they barely made any profit. It was a rough few months...

'Anna' shook her head. "Anyway, it's good you came along. Since I have something important to tell the both of you."

The male merchant rose an eyebrow.

"It's a matter within the family..." She continues, her voice becoming serious. "One of our sisters have gone silent..."

That made the couple go quiet.

Unknown to most people, the merchant family of Anna's have a form of 'information' network. While it is often used to find locations with profitable rewards. It's main purpose is keeps tabs on all the Anna's locations, ensuring not only ways to provide safety for them but a way to keep in touch with the family. How the network is maintained and run is a bit of a secret. Even to most of the Anna's, supposedly it's run by the elder generation Anna's, as well as a few trusted younger generations. As a means to keep it from diverting from it's original purpose...

At least that's what his Anna had told him. Still...it is without doubt that _some_ Anna's would find ways to exploit such a network.

Whatever the case, the term of 'gone silent' meant that one of the Anna's hasn't communicated with the family in a period of time. That tends to happen when said Anna specifies that no communication can be established for a certain amount of time, or something may have gone wrong...unfortunately it's often the latter.

"Which one?" His Anna finally asks after a minute. Her voice filled with concern...

"One of our younger sisters..." 'Anna' said as her face became serious. "She was last sighted where her last message was from. A village in Regna Ferox, that's somewhere north east. Before heading further north, into 'claimed' bandit territory. Alone..."

'That's not good,' Jason thought as he crossed his arms. 'Usually more experienced Anna's wander into areas like those. If a younger one does something like that, they usually have a few guards with them for protection. This one might be trying to make a name within the family...'

"How long has she been silent?" His wife asked, her face becoming serious as well.

"Too long..." 'Anna' simply said. "At least long enough for one of our older sisters to go and search for her. But that was a while ago."

"When was the older sister's last message?" The male merchant asked.

"It was recent," She answered as she shook her head. "But she hasn't found a trace yet. The only thing she had to provide a clue was that the younger sister is searching for a village deep within the mountains. In the heart of bandit territory..."

"Any reason why she would do that?" He gritted his teeth a little, as he may know the possible answer.

"There's supposedly a local legend about that village." 'Anna' said bitterly as she gritted her teeth. "About it knowing the location of some ancient ruins...that's all the older sister would write about..."

There are a lot of unspoken rules for Anna's, one of them is...if your going to chase after a legend that may lead to treasure...don't do it alone. Of course some Anna's take that lightly, and as a result go missing or come back with injuries...that leave scars.

Needless to say that pursuing any so called 'legend', can be very dangerous...

"Hopefully she finds her," His wife sighed. "Still, thank you for informing us...if we're ever in the area and she still isn't found. We'll take a look..."

'Anna' nodded in thanks than sighed. "Well then, isn't it best for the two of you to get home? It's going to be late soon enough..."

"Alright, it was good seeing you sis..." His red headed merchant hugged her sister as said sister hugged back.

"You, too...same with you..._Darling..."_ The sister did a teasing wink which made him twitch a little in annoyance.

"See you later, 'Anna'." He politely nodded as he and his wife leave the shop.

Guess it wasn't as annoying as he had anticipated.

* * *

Jon sighed to himself as he walked through the streets.

It took longer than he thought to gain the approval to visit his 'family'. While yes Chrom would have easily given him the chance, the swordsman didn't want it in a way that would possibly gain disapproval from Frederick. Who has thankfully made a full recovery...

So he had to wait, a few days of minor labor and other chores, before deciding to ask.

He passes by a few people and shops as he walked through the streets. He payed little attention to them...as it was what you typically see on a day to day basis. They're either going to work...or some other business.

The swordsman yawned as he rubbed his neck. It has been a rather long day for him...as he assisted a few of his fellow Shepherds. By either sparing against Vaike which was kinda fun, helping Stahl with some errands, returning a few books he borrowed from Sumia. Which weren't bad, she has some interesting tastes...as not all where the pure adventure genre.

He chuckled a little at the memory of her tripping right after he handed the books. At the rate she trips, it leaves little to wonder on how she doesn't hurt herself. Though he did have the decency to help her up...he wasn't like his brother. Who would just stare then laugh...then decide to help after several minutes of laughter.

"Hey, is that Jon? Over here!"

Speak of said ass and he shall appear, at least the ass's wife in this case. With said ass following behind her...did he forget to mention ass?

"Anna? Jason? What are you two doing out here?" The swordsman asked.

"We were visiting my sister," The red haired merchant answered as she smiled.

"Other than that nothing much," Jason muttered as he crossed his arms. "What took you so long anyway? Our little guest is getting a bit frustrated..."

"Oh?" Jon rose an eyebrow. "Guess my plan's going well, should be more fun to deal with her."

"You suck when it comes to bullshit you know that right?" His brother smirked. "Still, good thing you're out...she's _seems_ really eager to get some information."

"And information we'll provide," Jon said as he motion the two to follow him. "Just not the exact content or extent she wants..."

"Heh, finally got a cover story?"

"More or less, going to recycle the one made by the new one you found." He muttered. "Speaking of which, how's he doing?"

"In honesty...complete shit...still wondering how's he still alive. Then again all of us were like that once..." His brother chuckled. "And since Nai is actually taking her time with him. Guess she doesn't think he's a waste of time. She's probably trying to one up Midori...by finally gaining an apprentice."

"We both know Midori will take him and our other guest under her wing. It's only a matter of time..."

"Not gonna lose that bet..." He heard the merchant mutter. "You smug bastard..."

"Heh, you know you're gonna lose." He chuckled. "Still, on serious matters...what are his chances? Did Nai mention a length of time?"

"She said and I quote, 'Possibility is high, within a month we'll possibly see signs. Be ready by then...'. So we pretty much have another user in our ranks..."

'And here I thought I could get used to just the three.' The swordsman thought. 'Still, hopefully he'll be with us by then...that way any damage caused can be kept to a low standard. Even though low standard means plenty of trouble for us...'

"Good to know," He finally says. "Still, we'll need to brief everyone on our little story."

"True, but one thing you should know."

"What is it?"

"We've 'offered' the kid your so called choice." The merchant says. "But it was more of a formality then anything really...since it's obvious on the that fact he's choosing to stick with our main guest. Guess he's really going for a B rank..."

"Don't get what you mean on the last part, but that's rather interesting. Still we should get ready, cause I'll talk with our main guest tomorrow. Then things will start to...get interesting."

"Little brother...quit the mellow dramatic bullshit. It's annoying..."

* * *

_Today was rather enjoyable...seemed like Lucina was enjoying herself a little as well. She stared at each of the drawings that Suki brought out...like she was trying burn that image into her memory. At least that's what it looked like..._

_Anyway, Suki is pretty good at drawing...though she has the characters in dramatic poses. Like the one that had Dead Master with chains going around her like a DNA strand. The way it was done, made it look like she looking directly at you with her deadly yet mischief like eyes. There was also one of Black Rock Shooter, with her cannon behind her as she points her sword in a random direction. Her eyes looked deadly serious yet so silent...which was...incredible._

_Wonder if the princess would look like that...but I won't be able to see cause of that stupid mask! That thing still annoys me...cause of that I can't tell what the time child might be thinking. Or when she's glaring at me or not...thankfully she didn't do that today. Did nothing annoying I guess...might be because she seemed focused on Suki._

_Suki herself was obviously having a lot of fun...she really enjoyed herself._

"Oh, she did didn't she?" Midori's voice made me jump. "Heh, that's good to know."

"M-midori!?" I nearly yelled as I turned around. "W-when did you get here?"

"Around the part where you writing about Suki's drawings..." She simply adjusted her glasses as she smirked. "Good to know that my little sister is making friends. I'm so proud..."

Wow...she takes the role of big sister seriously doesn't she...

"By the way Leon, what are you doing out here?"

Huh? Oh right, I'm in the front of the Naga statue again...this time just sitting in front of it. As I said before, it's eyes give off a motherly look...it's interesting. Did whoever carve it thought of her that way...if so then they did a good job.

Wonder if there's a Da Vinci or other great artisan and thinkers in this world? Maybe they'll show up when this world's renaissance era begins...but would that actually happen? Or will it lead into a dark age like era, where knowledge and progress and stripped away because it doesn't fit societal norm? Will it lead into a path that reflects our wor-

_**Flick!**_

"Ow..." I held my forehead as it twitched in pain.

"You spaced out for a minute." Midori said as she narrowed her eyes. "You weren't thinking anything naughty were you?"

"Um...no." I lowered my hands. "And for me being out here, I just felt like taking a walk."

The battlemage rose an eyebrow then shrugged as she reached for something in her pockets.

"Here, Nai wanted me to give this to you." She said as she handed me a piece of paper. "Since she was too lazy herself..."

"What is it?" I asked as I looked at it. "Wait...is this..."

"A 'translation codex' or as Nai would call it a 'codex'..." She said as she sat down in front of me. "Pretty much what you need to understand the common written language in these lands."

"So how many written languages are there? If it has a common written one..." I asked as I carefully fold the paper and put it into the journal. At least it'll be safe there for a while...

"Dozens? Hundreds?" She shrugged. "We really don't know...same with the spoken ones including dialects. But as you might expect in a place like this, there is a common tongue. Even though it's known as 'Common' for some reason. Whoever thought of it must've been really bad with naming things..."

Common? That kind of name is pretty much used in a lot of fantasy world's ins't it. Makes sense for simpleness sake...

"So if I'm ever in a land that doesn't use this written language or speak it...I'm out of luck."

"Pretty much," She adjusted her glasses. "Chon'sin or other places such as those..."

"Well, that kinda sucks...have you been to another country that isn't on this side of the world?"

She shook her head. "Sadly, I'm stuck on this side. So...how are you adjusting?"

"I'm...fine. Just it's still a lot to take in."

"Don't worry," She placed her hand on my shoulder. "You're one of us...so you'll be fine."

"Thanks...I guess." I rubbed the back of my head.

She smirked as she stood up and offered me her hand. "Come on then, it's almost dinner time. And Nai's cooking something...really good."

Dinner? Damn...I skipped lunch...meh, done it a few times when I binge watch something.

"Alright then," I slowly took her hand and lifted myself up. "Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Well that took forever to do...intended to have this done earlier but things happen.**

**Anyway, holidays have passed leaving the arrival of school to happen. As I said once before, don't be surprised if some chapters come by really late. As education is very important...since does help me with this fic in more ways than one.**

**So as usual, Read, Review, or find a much better fic than this one. Though it'd be nice to hear people's thoughts on this...but that's a matter of choice.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Squadpunk 2.0: Why is it that people always assume it's that particular reason...meh, as said before many times. We'll see what happens...**

**RoseWarden: Really? How can anyone not fall for that tactician? The Robin of either gender is incredible, very intelligent and I should stop before I start to sound like a fan boy. Still Robin is Robin...**

**Anyway, the wolf fight was a bit difficult to do. I had to think of a way to make it work. Still, Midori is intelligent as is the rest of the Outrealmers/Outerrealmers...they have to come up with means to survive this world.**

**Robin blanking out was rather strange wasn't it? She just froze at the sight of something that caused a memory to stir. While it might have been the eyes, it might have also been what those eyes belong...won't say anymore.**

**Glad you know that you really like Midori, she's just so fun to write. Same with everyone else...**

**Nai's weapon is actually based off those staffs in Dragon Age. They look really awesome and can be effective...shame they couldn't be used as a spear or lance. Still, replicating such weapons could be possible, provided enough resources and time is given. But that depends on what exact weapon is made...**

**I'll...see what I can do about that request. They are fun to write...**

**Yeah, while they seem a bit schemey-ish...let's just say that they mean well. That's all I can say at the moment...**

**I...thanks, I've really been trying to make it have actual progression. It would've been kinda weird if they grew really close really fast. Since something like that takes time...a lot of time. Still, hopefully such a day will come when that level of trust and bond is achieved.**

**Also, again with the jealousy thing...why is it that everyone assumes that first? Meh, not confirming or denying anything...**


	20. Chapter 20

**As usual, shifts of views...**

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"Yes..."

"Good...give me a second..."

"Mind telling me the purpose of this again?" I asked, cause I'm going to get my ass handed to me.

"Well, I'm a crafter...and I need to know how you fight." Suki said as she set down a few inkwells. How many does she need? "Because that can help me think up schematics for armor, weapons, and other things you can use."

"Don't worry Leon," Midori said as she twirled her wooden scythe. "I'll go _real _easy on you..."

Doesn't help with the fact that you sound like you're going to enjoy this.

I gulped as I raised my wooden sword, which wasn't really heavy or light. Kinda of a balanced weight...guess Suki really has talent.

"Ready?" The battlemage asks as she goes into a defensive stance. "Then try to hit me..."

And with that I charged forward only to get knocked down when her wooden scythe trips me.

I'm so pathetic...

"Hehe...sorry, couldn't resist doing that..." Midori said as she giggled then helped me stand up.

She's quite the mischief maker isn't she? Still she was fast with that wooden version of her weapon...so I can expect her to use techniques that wouldn't pose _much_ harm to me. And I'm using the term much loosely...as she's going to kick me in the dirt. Or stone in this case...much more painful...

Can't do much with that thing's reach...unless...can't go around...what if...dammit, I can't think of anything!

"Alright, now's for real..." The scythe user said as she adjusted her glasses. "So, as I said before...try your best to land a hit on me."

"Right..." I slowly said as twirled the wooden sword a little.

Okay, she knows how to use her weapon effectively...same with her magic...but I have a slight advantage...

She's not gonna use her magic right now, since she would easily knock me down with little effort. Which might not be fun given her mischiefness. While that can change quickly, for a few brief moments I might be able to get close. Just have to get past that scythe...even though I can't think of a plan...I do have a few options.

She's probably gonna be pissed at me...cause those options are dirty...I'll save those for another time.

I slowly let out a breath as go into an offensive stance. One similar to Lucina's, specifically the one she uses when thrusting her blade...

Midori rose a brow then smirked as she crouches down. Crap can't tell what-

She jumps and brings her weapon into a downward arc, barely giving me enough time to jump out of the way. Wasting no time at all, she spins and slashes at me with the blunt end of her weapon. I barely managed to block it in time...she's seriously fast!

"Good now try to counter me..." She instructs as she pushes me back. "Or you'll lose again..."

Dammit, she's right, she can pull back that thing at any-

She pushes me and places the 'blade' end of her weapon inches away from my neck. Dammit...

"What happened to going easy?" I asked weakly as she lowered the weapon.

"I have been going easy..." She adjusted her glasses. "I just really out rank you in terms of experience and training. Plus it's kinda easy to read on what your going to do."

Huh?

"I've fought against plenty of swordsmen, so I've learned to memorize some styles and moves." She explains, her eyes narrowing a little. "You're no different, since you're mixing a Ylissean style with your own version. And it's easy to guess who you've learned that from..."

Damn...didn't help that I used a move I more or less copied/stole from Lucina. Like Midori, she out classes me in terms of experience, strength, reach, pretty much everything.

"So...any advice?"

"I don't use a sword so I really can't say." She twirls her wooden scythe. "Still, let's try this one more time. This time I'll _let_ you to hit me..."

Great...more chances for my ass to be kicked. Still...the hell can I do? I never dealt with a scythe user in my life...just...dammit all...I'm so weak...well...screw it...might as well try something foolish. Why does it seem like I'm going to use dirty tactics a lot?

I sighed as I reversed gripped my wooden sword and went into a random offensive stance. Okay...I should-

"Wait!" Suki's sudden yell made both of us turn.

"Onee-chan your too much for Leon to handle." She pouted as she put down her notes. "I can't get anything good from this, he needs to train with someone else. He should be good with either 'Marth', Jason, Anna even Jon. But with you...it's really unfair..."

"True, since he's been mostly using a sword...it might be better if he learns from an actual swordsman." A familiar voice speaks from behind Suki. Making her jump a little and look behind her...

It was Jon, leaning against the wall, smirking a little bit. Okay, when did he get there? Also why does he and Jason always lean against a wall and give off an ass like smirk?

"J-Jon!? You're here!" Suki beamed as the swordsman walked towards her. "When did you get back?"

"This morning," He said as he patted the crafter's head, earning a small protest from said crafter. "No, that's a lie, it was last night when everyone was still asleep."

"And you took your time," I slowly said as I crossed my arms. "And by sheer coincidence, you show yourself sometime after Nai took Lucina out on a 'errand'."

Last part is true, in the morning after breakfast. The Scribe Enchanter asked the princess for assistance on getting some books, and other things from some bookshop. Lucina seemed a bit hesitant about it, but agreed in the end. I was wondering why she was taken along...now the answer is sorta clear.

"Heh, I really don't want to do all this secrecy...but it can't be helped." He smirked. "Still, this is important...as we're going to feed the princess important information. Only that said information isn't exactly correct..."

"In short, your gonna feed her bullshit and want me to play along." I state as I sighed. ''What exactly is it that we're going to tell her?"

"I'm more or less borrowing the story you gave Robin." He says as he walks up to me. "While it isn't perfect, it more less works in our favor."

Either he doesn't have his own cover story, or he doesn't want the chance for our bullshit to be called out. Likely the latter...

"Um...what exactly is Leon's cover story?" Suki asks innocently as she tilted her head.

"I remember you telling me it had to do with a set of islands..." Midori said as she moved to my side. "But I didn't get much detail out of you, Jon."

"I'll let Leon explain," He said as a matter of factly. "So what exactly is 'our' story?"

Asshole...fine...

"I told Robin and 'Marth'," I said using air quotes. "That I come from a set of islands that is called the United Isles of Amerisa. That happens to really _love_ the concept of isolationism, as a way to explain why no one has heard of it...other than that...nothing else." Other than the so called stories and legends I've been telling Lucina.

Which reminds me, I have to eventually start with RWBY and follow up on Hyperdimesion Neptunia. Since with the latter I only got to beginning part of the first game, where Neptune was kicked out of Celestia then loses her memory...since I had to explain on what the goddesses actually looked like and give a small background story on each of them.

Still she seemed to like it, kinda displayed an interest on all of them. So I plan to mix up the games and the anime. Which is lazy since I don't want to tell _everything_ that happened in the games. So I could more or less tell the events of the first game then lead it into the anime. That _kinda_ works, but I'll have to change a bunch of things...such as not telling about the second and third game even though those ones were really fun. Since the anime takes a completely different direction...would have to deal with that. Also...how will she react to Plutia? Since that CPU can be so cute and adorable...yet can terrify you to the core.

Should I also tell her about Fullmetal Alchemist? Either way, I still need to find a way to explain technology and firearms or I won't be able to tell some good ones to her. Should also continue with Spice and Wolf...really need to think on this later.

"Still, I've only made up the information on the spot." I slowly said, scattering those particular thoughts away. "What were you gonna tell the princess?"

"More or less the same thing you told Robin." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Only with a few extra things, but in reality nothing much..."

"Kinda simple and dumb when said that way...still if we do it right it could work."

"We'll be fine either way, so we'll handle the details later." Jon said as his hand rested on his sheath sword. "Until then, Suki can you get Jason for me? As well as a couple of wooden swords?"

"O-okay...be right back." She nervously obeyed as she walked away to fetch said person and objects.

"You gonna take over training?" The scythe user asked as she leaned against her wooden weapon. "Cause I'm going to be bored watching you two..."

"Not exactly," He said as he crossed his arms. "Leon, I want you and Midori to fight against me and Jason."

"Huh?"

"Okay..." Midori said enthusiastically. "Can I use my regular scythe?"

"No, you know we'll lose anyway...besides this is meant for Leon." He slowly smirked. "If he intends to stick with the princess, he's gonna have to learn how to fight by her side."

"So pretty much team up with me so he can get a feel for it, before you pull off a cliche trick of having both Lucina and Leon fight you and Jason." She stated as she adjusted her glasses. "At this point, we might as well just admit that we all to fight her. Since it is _Lucina_ after all."

Great...I'm gonna have to break Lucina's mask...meh, will think of a plan later. Maybe...

"More or less true," He admits with a chuckle. "Which has pretty much taken the fun out of it. We'll see if Jason wants to do this...if not then plan b it is..."

* * *

"Thank you for your patronage..."

Nai mentally sighed as she payed the shopkeeper the correct amount of coin. While the shopkeeper was thankfully no Anna, she was still one for being stubborn. At least thanks to her, the exact issues she saw several times that were rare and somewhat common. She was thankful that she was able to get them in the right hands...

"...Why am I carrying these?" The hands of the future child to be exact. Who was so kind to _offer_ her help...by carrying said books that were purchased in a leather satchel that was lent to the princess. The books themselves were not too much...just small and simple looking yet what they contained...is the exact opposite.

"That question can be answered by looking at what you are carrying." The Scribe Enchanter said as she motioned her to follow. "Of course the proper answer would be...a gift of sorts."

The princess tilted her head before taking out one book and looked at the cover. "...These are..."

"Written texts on strategies and tactics." She smirked as they walked through the streets. "While he may not be my apprentice, I am still giving him lessons. It would be wise to offer him the proper tools to learn his...selected profession."

'Of course it would've been simpler if I had these in first place.' She thought. 'Then again, it wasn't as if we expected _any_ one of us to try to be a tactician. Why of all things it had to be that...still it doesn't matter now. Might as well do the second thing I wanted...'

They quietly walked through some small crowds then pass through a few empty streets.

"...Where are we going?" The time child finally asked after a few minutes of said quiet walking. "Your...home is in the opposite direction."

"True," Nai let out a small smirk. "I plan to make a small detour to a certain spot of the spot of the city that I happen to enjoy. Your welcome to join me, or make your way back. The choice is yours..."

She tilted her head as if thinking to herself, but stayed quiet as she followed her.

It made the Scribe Enchanter mentally smirk, as her plan was coming together...even though it was just a random idea...either way an opportunity has presented itself. Might as well use it...

Of course it didn't take long to actually do that...

"Enjoying the tea?" Nai asked the person in front of her. Who actually seemed to be enjoying herself...if only a little.

"It's...oddly bitter and sweet." Lucina said as she took another sip from her cup. "Yet...delicious."

"That's good to know," The red-haired woman smiled as she leaned against her palm. "It took me a while to properly mix that blend."

They were currently sitting in a spot of the city that Nai had once found when she was exploring. It had the benefit of being quiet, secluded and is not a dark and dirty alley. Okay maybe it was somewhat dirty, but at least it provides a form of privacy. Thankfully not the illegal kind of privacy, as this wasn't the side of town where thieves and other kinds of people meet. It is more or less...her little spot for privacy when she's not at home.

"Your curious to why I brought you here, aren't you?" Nai asked as she let those particular thoughts pass by.

"...Yes." The princess admits as she puts down her cup of tea. "Is it something you wanted to ask of me? Something you didn't want to ask at your...home?"

'Well she's certainly observant,' The blue eyed woman mentally smirked. 'More so than her father I'd say, wonder who her mother is...hope it's Cordelia, that way I win the bet. Still, she hesitated a little when she said 'home' again...interesting.'

"More or less yes," She sighed as she slowly placed her hands together. "I wanted to ask you a favor, something I believe I can trust you with."

The time child tilted her head, she seemed a little surprised.

"I'm sure you've heard the name Edward, correct?"

"...Yes, but I do not know who that is."

'That's true, but of course, she could know of him...' She mentally remarked. 'As Suki had insisted upon multiple times with the rest of us. But I doubt she actually knows much about us...'

"As you might expect, he is one of our own." Nai sighed once more. "And this favor involves him..."

"What is it that you ask of me?" If it weren't for the mask, the princess's narrowing eyes could possibly be seen. If she was doing that...

"I need you to find him," The Scribe Enchanter said bluntly. "As he hasn't been seen for sometime..."

"He's missing?" The masked princess asked, interestingly there was a subtle hint of concern.

"So to speak yes," She sighed for the third time as she leaned against her palm. "You see, Edward has an interesting profession that makes him travel all over these lands. Because of that, we usually have to write each other letters to keep in touch. But the last one was sent to us a month ago. Since then no word has come from him..."

"Your concerned that something may have happened to him..."

She nodded, "Yes, while Jon and others do not share my concerns as they believe in Edward's capabilities. I cannot help to what I feel for my comrade and friend. So I ask of you, Marth, will you please find him and see if he is alive and well? I would search for himself myself, but I am needed here."

Lucina quietly lowered her head and slowly brought her hand to her chest. Clearly showing the sign of her thinking deeply...

'I hope this works...' Nai thought as she waited for a response. 'Otherwise I would try make my case stronger, but I can't think of anything else now...maybe some form of blackmail. No that wouldn't be right...plus it would-'

"...I," The princess finally says, sounding hesitant. "Do you know the last location of where he was or an idea of where he may be?"

That made the Scribe Enchanter mentally grin, "Yes as a matter of fact, in the contents of the last letter. He stated that he had planned to head to a village in the south west. He said it was one that is near a ruin of an old fort that once protected the area. By any chance you know where I'm referring to?"

"Yes, I have some idea..." The time child nodded as she looked at her. "Can you describe him for me, so that I may be able to identify him."

"Short brown hair, brown eyes, and last I saw him, he had a rough beard." The red-haired woman quickly said. "His clothes, weapons and techniques, well let's just say that they may be seen as unusual in these lands. I'm sure you'll understand when you see for yourself. There was also his damnable necklace..."

"Necklace?" The masked princess tilted her head. "What of it?"

"He wears a silver necklace, and it happens to be in the shape of a wolf. That should help you to identify him, right?"

"Yes, that is...more than enough."

"Right, we should head back." Nai nodded before standing up. Lucina nodded as she started to stand up as well.

"Wait, I forgot one more thing. I know that this may be much to ask of you, but can you not mention any of this to Jon?"

"...Why?"

"Let's just say that, while Jon may disapprove of my actions. He means well, and strongly believes in all of us, but he can be rather...foolish at times."

"I...understand."

'Perfect...' The Scribe Enchanter nodded. 'As the childish saying goes...hook, line and sinker! Now then, maybe I should finish teaching him with what little time is left. Did forget to mention a few important things...by forget I mean intentionally left out.'

* * *

Suki...was nervous again and sightly upset. Possibly a bit more than she should be...but she couldn't help it.

Her Onee-chan may be facing off against both Jon and Jason, something she hadn't seen in a long time. The down side to it is...Leon is supposed to help, but as mean as it is to say...he's not really fit for that. Since the last time, it was Midori and Nai working _together..._which really scared the brothers _really_ badly. She distinctly remembered that Jason _begged_ Jon to never have that happen again...which was actually funny.

Plus she's supposed to be make some schematics for potential weapons, armor, and equipment. While she hasn't seen much, it's possible for Leon to adapt to a certain style as he is a blank page. Pretty much like how everyone else was before they more or less found their own style...so why would it be different? Still from what she had seen and been told, Leon has been somewhat copying some techniques she had seen from Lucina.

That can be accounted for when she starts any schematic, as well as the possible chance of him copying other moves or making up his own.

Either way, this'll cut time into developing her own weapons. As well as training, adjusting and customizing said weapons. While she's finally been able to make a schematic for her back up weapon, but hasn't had a chance to forge them. She'll also need to spar with someone in order to properly test it...and make any needed modifications. And those were her back up and primary...she hasn't got into her secondary ones...other than that one particular one she made. But that was for another reason...

But of course she also has other things to do as well, Anna is going to eventually ask her for another set of farm tools. Apparently one of Anna's sisters...Anna...had sold some to a few villages and reported that they were really good quality. Something about the farmers drooling after seeing an effective...demonstration. Something like that, but it's likely an exaggeration since Anna is always so nice to them.

Suki shook her head then gently rubbed her neck. She was back in her workshop, trying to finish a schematic she started...that involved something for Lucina.

So far it was nothing special, just a simple design for a shield. While she wanted to use something that she remembered existed in the game...the shield that was more or less similar to the mask she wears. She decided not to since that may be...a bit awkward if said princess walked in and saw the design. Besides she also wanted to make her own design, something light but can take a hit, something that wouldn't hinder but help Lucina when she fights. Something that can help make new techniques...something special...but may not be done for a while.

The crafter ran a hand through her hair, her fingers brushing against her Neptunia hair clips. She remembers the time when she first made them, her Onee-chan laughed then playfully patted her head. Telling her that the clips weren't the right size and were thinner. Even though that was her intent, since the original ones were kinda large...they would've look a bit weird on her in her opinion. At least she didn't think of wearing a choker like necklace...she'd never hear the end of it with her Onee-chan.

"What're doing Suki?" A familiar voice made her jump and quickly turn.

"A-anna!? S-sorry I didn't hear you come in..." The light purple haired stuttered before clearing her throat. "Um...can I help you...with anything?"

The merchant did her signature cheerful simile as her finger rested on her chin. "Oh nothing, just wanted to check in on my favorite little crafter."

"Oh, I'm fine...I'm just thinking up somethings."

"Like what? Oh you mean this?" The red-eyed merchant pointed at the working schematic. "Is that a shield?"

The crafter nodded, "Yeah, I'm trying to think of something for Mar-Lucina. But as usual I'm having a bit of trouble..."

"Oh, thinking of doing something like that other shield design? The one that somehow turns into a sword?"

"It's part sword, and bladed shield." She corrected. "It can be separated to act as a sword and bladed shield. Then when it's put back together it becomes a effective shield, though it's kinda meant as a weapon for a last resort when one loses their sword or lance. I had knights in mind when I was thinking it up..."

"Knights? Or for that one knight Midori really likes..." Anna teased as she winked. "You really want your big sister to be happy..."

"Um...w-well...yeah...but please don't tell Onee-chan!" She nearly yelled, then blushed before nervously fiddles with her thumbs. "It's...a surprise if or when she finally-"

"Shh, don't worry...I'll keep it a secret." Anna giggled before motioning her to follow. "We should go, they might start soon...and I'm sure you don't want to miss anything."

Suki merely nodded, hoping to see something to give her some ideas.

* * *

"No!"

"Really Jason? I didn't even fin-"

"Little brother, you know I'm not stupid enough to be on the receiving end of Midori's scythe. Even if she has a handy cap...a seriously shitty handy cap."

Jon sighed as he rolled his eyes, he should've guessed his older brother would be a bit 'wary' of facing a serious Midori. Which isn't as scary as a serious, sleep deprived and pissed off Nai. That...is the true form of a living nightmare...he still shivers at the memory. There was so much fire, so much heat...he almost felt bad for those bandits...almost.

"Ahh, Jace is afraid...I didn't think I was that scary..." Midori playfully hummed as she rested her arm on the self proclaimed tactician's shoulder. Who understandably looked a bit uncomfortable...

"Don't call me that," His brother groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "Besides, shouldn't we be working on something else?"

"Cover story is more or less handled..." Jon waved off as his brother became visibly irritated. "And I'm only doing this so Leon can get some handle when working together with someone."

"That's bullshit and you know it..."

The swordsman shrugged, "Should've guessed that my own flesh and blood would refuse to fight by my side. when I needed it most..."

"Quit, your mellow dramatic bullshit please." Jason sighed before turning to leave with his wife following behind him. Obviously doing her best not to giggle at the silliness of the situation. She was failing...badly...

"If you have an actual need for a merchant, visit me later."

Jon bit back a comment on he could just talk to Anna. His brother was too much fun to tease.

"So...what now?" Leon's confused voice fills the room.

"Well, with my five minutes of fun out of the way..." The swordsman turned his head. "Suki, how's your main weapon..."

"Um...it's not finished..." The young one admitted as she fiddled her thumbs. "Plus I haven't made my back up..."

"Don't you still have your wooden models? Would those work, cause you do need some practice."

"Well, I have to check a few things...but it'll work."

"Good then go get them." He turns once more as Suki nodded and walked away. "Midori you're going to fight the two of them."

"Um...Jon, you know I'm going to be bias and hurt Leon more than my little sis." Midori glared at him as her wooden scythe started to come close to the self-proclaimed tactician's head. Who seemed to be getting nervous...but to his credit, didn't really move. Out of fear or bravery...that remains to seen...

"True but you know Suki is going to get involved in fights sooner or later. She needs to know how to properly fight, same goes for Leon. Both will have to fight in order to survive this world..." Something so obvious that it didn't really need to be said. He knows that Midori means well for Suki...she is just really attached.

"...Fine...alright Leon, get ready to support my little sis. Or else...you'll be punished..."

_Really_ attached...perhaps it might not have been good idea...

* * *

"Are...you okay?" Suki asked as she tilted her head. Holding something that somewhat looked like a wooden dagger, earlier she slipped something behind her back. I couldn't see clearly on what it was, only that it looked thin and was black. Wonder what it was...

"I'm fine..." I said as I let out a breath. "Um...you ready for this?"

She only nodded as she twirls the wooden weapon in her hand. Likely testing the weight or something...

Damn it, how the hell did it come to this situation? I'm facing off against Midori, who earlier had no problem kicking my ass...now I'm doing it again. Damn my shitty luck...at least Midori is giving us sometime for planning while she 'freshens up'. Whatever that meant...

"Onee-chan is strong..." Suki's low voice brought me from my thoughts. "But she does have a few weaknesses..."

"Like what?"

"Well...she can't see without her glasses...can't create a wind barrier like Nai. Since she has the lowest mana reserves out of all our magic users. Isn't that good at close combat, so she uses magic in a way that lets her cast kinetic like blasts. Which she can cast from her hands and feet for increase in movement or attacks. But she has better control with her hands so she prefers that. Can cast blades of wind from her scythe and hands, but prefers her scythe since it's more accurate. A bunch of more things really, so it might be best to separate her from her scythe...um, why are you staring at me like that?"

Wow...she's really paying attention to detail...doesn't help with that developing cute blush of her's. No wonder Midori claimed her as a little sister...she's just incredible! I'm a little jealous...just a little.

"So...divide her attention and separate her from her weapon?" I suggested. That or go for her glasses...but I think only Suki can do that and I doubt she'd go through with it.

"That or take Onee-chan's glasses away..." She tilted her head. "While it'll help us win...it will also make her mad at us for awhile."

"So no go..." I sighed. "Guess we can do former...have an idea on how to get close to her?"

"Well...I can distract her, she'll go a little easy on me. That'd be her weakness..." The crafter smiled as her hand touched something behind her back. Likely that thing I saw earlier...

"So I do to her what I did to Nai last time? Just sneak around?" Then get my ass kicked when my guard is lowered? I don't know what surprises Midori would have in store...

"She'd be expecting that..." She answered before sighing. "Since Onee-chan and Nai-chan really like competing with each other...she wouldn't want to lose like Nai did."

Isn't competing a subtle way to describe it? Meh, not gonna ask...still this is going to be a tough fight no matter how we plan it. Either way we should think of something...it's not like we can attack at the same-wait...

"Suki, what about partnering and switching? SAO and FE style?"

"Huh? SAO...FE...style? What do you...oh, that's what you mean."

* * *

Midori was...she wasn't really sure what she should be feeling.

Should it be joy at the fact that she'll help her little sister be ready to defend herself? Worry over said fact that her little sister will have to fight soon enough? Anger at Jon for making her think about this in the first place?

The scythe user sighed as she adjusted her glasses. She purposely stepped out in order to give Suki and Leon a chance to plan something. Hopefully that self proclaimed tactician would be smart enough to listen to whatever Suki tells him. Knowing her, she's telling him all the weaknesses and abilities that her Onee-chan has.

'And here I actually thought of going easy...' She sighed as she flipped something in her hand. A simple plain ring...that was in a silver like color, the thing she found on herself when she first woke up in this world.

She doesn't know why she has this, or why it was specifically a ring. She remembered when Nai asked everyone what item they had when they first awoke. She was obviously trying to see if there was a connection between all of them through the items. Or to whatever brought them here, of course there wasn't at all due to the randomness and small inconsistency of the presented items. As well as the fact that none of the items held any special properties...they are as they are...

Was it a presentation of one's personality or chosen role or something? Like how Jon is like a solider and member of the Shepherds, so he got a sword? So would that explain Jason's coin, since he did become a merchant after meeting Anna. That may also explain Suki's feathered pen, since she constantly uses it when she makes schematics or drawings. But then...

How would that explain everyone else's items?

Edward had claimed that his necklace was from a game but that's all there is to it. It wasn't the reason for his current profession as he explained. There was also Nai's item...a freaking Tarot card! While Nai had explained what specific card and it's meaning was...she had no idea why she has it on her. Then there was Midori's ring, something so simple and plain...nothing visibly special. Can't even turn her invisible...

Midori sighed as she gripped the item, letting it slowly slide into her thumb. There were times where she thought about throwing it away, but whenever that happened...something inside her wouldn't let her. Like she felted like she would regret it...another thing that irritated her. Why did she feel so attached to an object she never had when she was at home!?

"Oh, Midori there you-are you alright?" A familiar voice snaps her from her thoughts.

"Anna? Oh, I'm fine." Midori lied as she slipped the ring into her pockets, not wanting to think on it any further. "What's going on? Where's Jace?"

The red-haired merchant rose an eyebrow before shrugging. "Jason is at the carriage, insisting on selling somethings to the local businesses. So he really doesn't want to fight you, for the older brother he can be really childish."

"One of the reasons you married him didn't cha?" The scythe user teased as she smirked. "He's our asshole comedic relief..."

Anna smirked at the 'insult' on her husband. "That's him alright..."

"So how is the business anyway? Sold plenty stocks and bonds?"

"It's been a little slow..." The merchant admitted as she crossed her arms. "Even when I place the merchandise at a price that's nearly a steal."

"Hm, that's how it always is..." Midori shrugged. "Same here as it was back home..."

"Oh, your talking about that stock exchange place right? Where people just buy bonds, stocks and other things...I know my sisters would love a place like that."

'Not only would they love it, they would dominate it.' The raven haired woman thought as the image of multiple Anna's in a stock market floor doing business in suits. It's funny yet somehow terrifying...now she's currently wondering how Anna would look in a suit. Would it be cute...maybe she'll make a request with Suki.

"Anyway, we should be getting back to Leon and Suki. I think they're more or less ready..."

The scythe user nodded as she followed the merchant. Worry and excitement increasing with every step she took...whatever is going to happen next.

She knows it's going to be really fun...

* * *

The forest was always quiet, five words that can be a bit untrue. As man tends to ignore the more subtle sounds of nature.

The man sighs to himself as he looks trough the peaceful forest. He was resting after a day of his routine, which involved hunting and using his magic. As always, it leads him feeling exhausted both physically and mentally. A welcome feeling as it helps him grow...

A set of flapping wings brings his attention, it belonged to several crows. They were flying around him for quite sometime now, from the morning till now. It was quite a simple explanation really...

'He always finds me,' The man thought as a little smirk. "You can come out now, I'm finished with my day."

As soon as he finished saying that, the crows started to caw which was followed by a dark cloud looming behind them. Said cloud was made of crows, all doing various caws as each of their wings flapped. It almost made him roll his eyes, why was his friend was always this dramatic? He could at least appear from behind a tree...more simpler that way.

The cloud of crows descended in front of him, landing a short distance away.

"Nya ha ha!" Laughter came from inside the cloud, after a few seconds it dispersed revealing the person inside.

It was someone the man was all to familiar with, there was no chance that he'd mistake that face or laugh for someone else.

"Hey-o Nedarix! What's up?" The young man greeted with a smile.

The man, Nedarix, smiled at his friend. "Hello Henry, it's good seeing you again."

* * *

**A/N: Okay that way too long to do, college and life have been making me really busy. **

**So yeah, it's officially been a year since I started this...an entire year. I'll be honest and say that I didn't expect this to turn out that well. While the amount of attention this has gotten may not seem like much. For me it is much more than originally thought...much more.**

**Thank you, to those who have favorited, followed, or even reviewed this story. That in more ways than one has encouraged, inspired, and draw out emotions I didn't expect when I first posted this.**

**Possibly dramatic thankfulness aside, read, review, or find something much better than this. There's bound to be a bunch...**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Squadpunk 2.0: **** Heh, yes I had to do that...couldn't resist.**

**King Keith:**** Nai...she'll just be herself in whatever actions she takes...**

**The finger flick thing can referenced to literally a huge number of Animes. So it could be that, or something else...I'll let the readers decide on that.**

**I honestly doubt Leon would pull off that kind attack...also on the bath scene. Let's just say that if that happens, then Leon would die of blood loss, and not from a nose bleed.**

**That's some rather interesting comparisons, though it is true that they can be a bit too 'schemy'. At least they honestly mean well, despite the dishonest tendencies...**

**It's possible that it may be that particular event...we'll see.**

**RoseWarden: Heh, good joke.**

**True it does appear to be that kind of ability, and it would be worth to see how it compares to 'traditional' mages. Hopefully we'll see that happen...**

**Lucina has been so much and an more than equal amount has been taken from her. So she would care and be strongly attached to what she has left. Of course it's not exactly known what would happen if the Falchion is taken from her. It may cause distress...or extreme anger...or both...perhaps we'll see.**

**They really are a ****crafty bunch aren't they? Still the age thing is a bit difficult to pin point isn't it, since their maturity and personalty varies.**

**Heh, Suki's last name was from that series anyway. So why not make it completely obvious...**

**Interesting guess...but we'll have to wait and see soon enough.**

**Well...that is true with Lucina, she has been more or less interacting with Leon almost this entire time. So it would be natural if she started to rely on him a little...**


	21. Chapter 21

**As usual, there'll be shifts in views. **

**Though there is something in the A/N.**

* * *

'Well, this is going to be interesting...' Jon thought as he crossed his arms. Quietly watching the sight in front of him.

Leon and Suki were standing next to each other, while Midori was in front of them. Arm on her side while the other held her wooden scythe. Her face was serious, meaning that she wasn't going to go easy on them. Even if one of them was her little sister. Of course it could be just a farce...

Her opponents had the same weapons and equipment on them was the same, except one little difference. Leon was holding a small wooden shield for some reason...and the young man looked a bit awkward with it. He obviously wasn't used to holding a solid slab of wood on his arm. Question is why is he holding it in the first place?

'Just what do they plan to do?' He thought as he got ready. "Okay, this will be a fair fight. The victor will be determined by submission, which will be judged by me. Anna, when ever your ready..."

"Right!" Anna beamed enthusiastically, "Ready..."

Midori spun her wooden scythe before going into a offensive like position.

Suki and Leon seemed to whispered something to each other then nod as they went into positions of their own.

"Begin!"

As soon as the merchant yelled, the scythe user charged forward quickly closing the distance. The young man moved in front of the crafter, his shield in front.

"Nice try..." Midori smirked as she stopped a few steps away before swinging horizontally.

The young man, possibly seeing this coming, turned and blocked the incoming strike. The two where now in a struggle as both pushed one a another. But to the credit of both, none where moving that much. Likely cause one was actually holding back...

"...Now!" Leon suddenly yelled as he jumped back letting the scythe pass by harmlessly. Behind him, Suki charged pasted him, her wooden dagger facing forward. Moving past the wooden scythe, her weapon pointed straight at a confused Midori's face...

The green eyed woman moved her head to dodge the strike. She tries to move back but is stopped when Leon grabs the end of her scythe. Somehow locking his arm and shield into the weapon...leaving Suki another chance to strike.

Midori let go of her weapon and jumped back to avoid the strike. Surprise and confusion where on her face. Green air started to appear on her arms as she casted a spell to make jump further back. Leaving a good distance between her and the pair...

'So they planned to take away her weapon, problem is...she'll use magic now...' Jon thought as he watch the self proclaimed tactician lift the scythe and toss it some distance away. 'Something tells me that they took that into account...'

"...Not bad," The raven haired woman adjusted her glasses. "The two of you went after what you thought would trouble you the most."

"Heh, I didn't think it would actually work. A bit too easy isn't it..." Leon rubbed the back of his head.

"Your right..." Green air started to visibly flow around her arms once more. "My scythe, was the least of your worries..."

"Figured as much..." He shrugged before turning his head. "You got this Suki?"

"Leave it to me..." The crafter stepped forward, the wooden dagger was in a reverse grip. "Just keep me covered okay?"

The young man only nodded as he drops the wooden sword he was using.

'Dropping his only weapon...' Jon narrowed his eyes. 'Just what are they thinking...'

"I'm sorry Onee-chan," Suki slowly says gaining the attention of the person in front of her. "It was either this or break your glasses...neither one I actually wanted to do."

Midori sighed as the air around her arms started to slow down. "It's...okay Suki...now get ready."

With that warning she casts a small blade horizontally, it was quickly making it's way to it's target. Who just stood there not even moving...as is if she was...

Leon moved himself in front of Suki, successfully blocking the spell with the shield he was holding. Though he did stagger back a few steps...

'So that's their plan...' The swordsman thought as the crafter moved past her protector. 'After getting rid of the scythe, one blocks any attacks so the other can advance. They're trying to get close to land a hit or at least tire her out to the point of submission. And they're relying on Midori going easy when Suki is in front...not bad. Let's see how it turns out...'

The scythe user casted a few more blades of the same size, which where blocked once again by the shield wielding tactician.

_**Creak! **_

"Shit!" Leon cursed as he and Suki looked at the shield. A small piece of it had fallen off...

'Since it was made of simple wood,' The swordsman thought as he watched the pair whisper to each other. 'It's only a matter of time before it breaks.'

"...Oi, how about we rap this up Midori!" The young man yelled as the crafter went behind him. Slowly pressing herself against him, likely for support. "Since we're going to lose anyway, how about we get this over with?"

"Sure..." The raven haired woman adjusted her glasses once more. "Then I'll do one of my specials, be ready though or you may just get hurt."

'Please be a bluff...'

Midori smirked as raised her arms and crossed them into an X with her hands pointed upward. Green air flowed to the tips of her fingers then engulfed her arms.

'Dammit, she's being serious!' Jon gritted his teeth as he instinctively reached for his sword, only to grab open air. 'Fuck...if it's anything like what she did with me and Jason...then they won't stand a chance.'

She giggled as she lowered her arms, moving her index and middle fingers in a twirl like motion. "I only used this a few times...so get ready."

The pair looked at themselves before at their opponent, both looked a bit nervous.

The battlemage giggled once more before pointing both her hands at the pair.

The smirk never once leaving her face...

* * *

You know how I've said that my luck is shitty? Well...it really is quite shit.

I cursed as I raised the shield, barely blocking the incoming barrage of wind blades. How the hell can she do so many anyway!?

_**Creak!**_

Dammit, the shield can't take much more of this. At least this attack feels a hell of a lot more weaker than what she has done before. Problem is that there are a lot more strikes...sacrificing power for increase number of hits. The barrage stops, letting me lower the shield a little and let out a breath of relief.

Midori herself looked like she was out of breath as well, guess it takes a lot out of her as well. Good to know...still we can't keep this up for much longer, I had to open my mouth. At least we hadn't pissed her off...that might have been much worse.

"Leon, can you keep the shield up for a little bit longer?" Suki whispered. "At least until the next attack is finished?"

"Yeah," I whispered, not looking away from Midori. "But can't say the same for the shield...won't last much longer." Thing is about to fall apart...

"...I'll just need a single chance, but if it breaks...than just duck and move away."

"Not sure if that's a good idea, some of the blades are going in random directions." I narrowed my eyes. "If we're going to do this, then we have to get closer...really close."

Though I doubt the shield would hold that long, might have to do something really stupid.

"Suki, what exactly is that thing you have on your back?" Please answer...

"...It's...something I can use against Onee-chan...a secondary weapon."

"Okay then, can you pass me your dagger?" I whispered as I watch Midori visibly breath heavily. "Without her noticing..."

Not even questioning why, she quietly and gently places her weapon in between my fingers. At least this shield is giving us some privacy...

"What are you planning to do?" She asks, placing her hand on my shoulder.

"...I'm not good at throwing things, but I'll still might gain her attention. While you do your thing with your other weapon. Got it?" Cause I can't think of anything else to do...some tactician I am.

"...She'll try to hit you with a barrage, but she can't keep it up for long. You'll have to hold it for ten to twenty seconds, it's almost been a couple of minutes. So she should be ready to attack again, so be careful..." She whispered before letting moving hand away from my shoulder. "Should I go left or right?"

Damn, she sounded completely focused, nearly forgot how nervous she can sound. Okay then...

"I'll go left, you go right..." I said as I gripped the wooden dagger. "Ready...go!"

Both of us ran in opposite directions, Midori looked between us before focusing her attention on me. Kinda predictable ain't it?

"Nice try!" She yells as she launches another barrage of wind blades at me.

I immediately stop in my tracks and brought the shield up, just in time to feel the barrage.

Don't break, don't break, don't break, don't break...

_**Creak! Snap!**_

"Fuck!" I cursed as the shield breaks and I'm knocked onto the ground. Dropping the wooden dagger in the process...

The barrage quickly stopped after I fell, letting me look a smirking Midori who was still breathing heavily.

"Nice...try..." She panted as she adjusted her glasses. "You...almost...had me..."

"Heh, have you forgotten?" I chuckled as I sat up and grabbed the wooden dagger before slowly standing up. "I'm not alone in this..."

She gritted her teeth as she turned to see that Suki was not far from her. she was standing still holding the thing I saw earlier in one hand.

"Onee-chan..." The crafter slowly smiled as she flexed her hand. The item in her hand extended into a fan, that had a simple design to it, yet the jagged edges looked really sharp. "I did good right?"

Midori looked at her for a moment before sighing, the air around her arms dissipated. "Heh, yeah you did...alright I'm done with this fight."

Wait...what!? Just like that!? Is that fan important or something?

"So...we win?" I asked weakly, confused by the outcome.

"Yes," She smiled as she looked back me. "If we continued this any further, then it's likely that one of you would be injured badly. As your Onee-sama, I have to be responsible for your safety, what kind of big sister would I be if I did that?"

Well...I can't really argue with that logic...and big sister thing again. Really?

Suki giggled as she put away the fan she had. "Onee-sama? Does this mean Leon will be my Nii-san?"

...Huh?

The green eyed woman tilted her head, before she started giggling then reach full blown laughter.

"Well now, that really isn't a bad idea..." She laughed as she adjusts her glasses. "So what do you say Leon? Care to be our new little brother?"

I...have no idea how to respond to that...doesn't help that I'm starting to blush in embarrassment. Though while this whole entire thing is kinda absurd...I actually wouldn't mind...I actually want a sister. Dammit, now's not the time to think on home! Just bury those damn feelings and refuse!

Refuse! Just say NO!

"I'll take that silence as a yes," I blinked and jumped back when I noticed Midori was in front of me. When did she...

"As I said before, welcome to our little familia." She smiled as she placed her hand on my head. "Little brother..."

My face now feels on fire...and I feel a small part of me smiling...

Dammit all...why does it have to be this?

"Sure..._Nee-chan..._" I have no idea whether I'm being sarcastic or not.

* * *

Midori's logic is as follows...

If Suki meets a boy her age then befriends said boy, a bond is formed. When the bond grows and deepens, feelings will start to develop. When feelings develop certain things happen. When certain things happen, little sister's innocence is stolen, when that happens..._**castration**_ occurs...and _nobody_ wants that to happen.

However, if Suki meets a boy then befriends and has said boy become her brother. Then a new bonding path occurs, which will lead into a better outcome for everyone. It's perfect!

Besides, Leon did appear to have a certain look in his eyes. She's seen it a few times, something everyone of them is familiar with. It's likely that he's thinking about where they've come from...and is missing it. He hasn't shown any visible signs of distress, but it's likely that there are mentally. Who wouldn't think of home...and have some emotion on it?

So as a means to only provide a small comfort, and the 'side' benefit of protecting her little sister. She decided to take him in as a brother, and he seems to be in agreement with it.

"...Oh my, I leave for a short while and your list of 'siblings' grows. You really have a big sister complex, eh? Midori?" A familiar voice of a certain sadistic person cuts the scythe user from her thoughts.

"Ah, your back Nai, and I see that Marth is still with you. I was a little worried that you might lose her in this big city." Midori did her best to keep her voice neutral, as now wasn't a time to get into any form of argument. She's supposed to set an example as the Onee-sama after all.

The Scribe Enchanter chuckled as the person next her tilted her head in obvious confusion. "Jests aside, it seems you've finally returned Jon."

"Well, I had arrived around noon..." Said person rubbed the back of his neck. "And likely you still want to hear what I have to say...correct?"

"...Yes." The princess said as she stared at him. Obviously wanting to hear what she had patiently been waiting for.

"Alright then," Jon said as he crossed his arms. "Let's get started..."

* * *

"Where are you from?"

"As you were told, we come from a nation of islands, known as the United Isles of Amerisa." Bullshit...

"Why have I never heard of this...United Isles before?" Cause it doesn't really exist...

"Well, back home we strongly hold the idea of being isolated from the rest of the world. Even though it isn't fully agreed upon..." Bullshit...

"What do you mean?"

"He means," I spoke up, gaining the attention of the two of them. If their going to use my bullshitter than I might as well do it... "That our home thinks that we're better of never interacting with this world, no matter the reason. In a simple way to put it, we want to be left alone to our own devices."

"Of course their are those of us who think other wise." I gestured to the others. "There are few of those that think we should interact with the world. To learn, grow and share cultures...of course our common leaders do not think other wise."

"Common leaders? You are not govern by an Exalt or supervised by a council of nobles?" Shit, shouldn't have said common...council of nobles? That sounds typical in this era. Probably run by people with large sticks up their-

"Our country is rather different from your's..." Nai picks up where I left off. "We in a way, have no royalty, just leaders who are elected by popular vote to represent the people. I know that may seem preposterous but that is the way our country works. So please refrain from asking about that...it doesn't mean much here."

"While it is contrary to what we just said, our country does send expeditions for rare resources and materials." She continues, "Anyway, this select few attempt to leave the Isles through these expeditions, but often get caught. Of course since it is strictly supervised by a certain branch of our leadership..."

"The Organization," Jon takes the reins from Nai. "A network of information gatherers, dedicated to the sole purpose of keeping our country safe, while dong some questionable methods..."

"While not really all that bad," I added in, not wanting to take this in the wrong direction. "The Organization really is strict on who they let go on these expeditions, as they do not want people to go and risk revealing the location of the Isles. So they take 'steps' to ensure it's safety..."

"These steps include a form of 'training'," I rubbed the back of my head. "We learn the somewhat basic knowledge about the lands we travel to, and find ways to gain the materials or resource we need with little interaction as possible. Also before you even think on it, we do not have spies any where. Since it would leave too much for a chance of interaction or confrontation, so we gain necessary information from merchants or scholars we happen to cross..."

Lucina stared at me before tilting her head. Hopefully she believes most of the crap we're spewing, cause there's a lot of it.

"As mentioned before, these steps are more a form of conditions. It branches from age to state of health, and bunch of things that are not really important to the topic at hand. But one condition stands above the rest...and that is the participator must not know the exact location of the Isles."

There...'shocking plot twist', hopefully everyone else picks up on it. It'd be a pain if they didn't...

"Wait, you mean to say that-"

"None of us know where our home is..." Suki said sadly, her eyes cast downward. "So even if we have the means to travel there, we can't since we have little idea where it is."

"...Wait...if none of you know where your homeland is, then how do-"

"There are secrets about our home that we do not know." I interrupted the princess, before letting out a sigh. "Though it is commonly believed...that navigators are placed secretly within these expeditions...they pretend to not know the location and only guide them back when the time is needed. I...can't really say if it's true or not...I'm sorry but I wished I had more to tell you on that."

Bullshit mixed in with the bullshit of not knowing things, should work for some time. Since it'll cover some confusing things...

"Regardless," Nai speaks up once more. "In the end it matters not if you choose to believe our story or not Marth. All that matters is that we just want survive and live our lives."

That...that's true...no actual crap needed to say with that. At least we told her something honest...

"Now that you've heard what you wanted," Jon picks up the conversation. "I suppose that you plan to leave soon?"

Oh...right, she'll want to check on her father and try to find the other children. Maybe I should give the hint of traveling to where Laurent is...at least the general area. But he might not be there, he might be traveling else where. Not like he'll just wait in one spot for two years...wonder where the other children are. As well as which ones are here, is it all or some of them?

Can't ask Lucina right now so I'll have to wait...a while.

"...I...have other business to attend to," The time child finally says. "Tomorrow morning...we'll be leaving tomorrow morning."

Is it weird to be feeling great that she mentioned 'we'? At least she's still acknowledging my existence...which is good progress...I doubt I'd get the same treatment if I ran into Tharja or something. Now currently wondering what kind of conversation I'll get out of that one. Maybe I could help Robin deal with her stalker tendencies...which isn't a excuse to think of a way to spend time with the violet eyed tactician.

...Damn this stupid crush...and I actually just acknowledged it now! Things will be really awkward around that woman, which is annoying and distressing.

"Well then, I should rap up my lessons." Nai said as she motioned me to follow her. "If you would follow me, please."

"Um...sure." Was all I could say as I just go with her. Leaving everyone else behind...

Can't tell if I should be getting a bad feeling or not.

* * *

_Liquid is not Solid, Solid is not Liquid, thus is the law of equvilent exchange..._

"Equivalent. You missed a few letters there."

I could only nod as I focused on the task.

_Through the fool and arcana, mony bonds ore fromed..._

"Many, Are and Formed," Nai corrects as she points to the correct lettering. "Other then the occasional misspelling, your doing okay. Except your penmanship is completely terrible, I can barely read it."

"That's commonly expected when you barely learned to read the written language." I muttered as I placed the quill down. It's not that difficult to write with this quill, it's pretty much a pencil with ink at the tip. And I just realized how stupid that can sound...

After bringing me back to her mini-library, Nai had me read a little more before teaching me the basics in writing. First from writing this world's written language in order of it's alphabet, then actually trying to structure it into basic sentences. Even if sentences tend to be a bunch of random words...

Was a little difficult to do since I had to reread that 'codex' she gave me. Plus it doesn't help that the symbols themselves are difficult to draw, now that I actually think of it. These look oddly similar to what I have seen a little with the Kanji based writing system used in Japan. Except it looks a bit different from what I've seen, though I could be wrong since I'm not really able to write in Kanji.

Still, kinda not that surprising due to the origin of the game series, but it's a bit interesting. Though I would have expected it to look similar to Latin or something, since Ylisse is pretty much a medieval European like country. Expect with magic...and a bunch of other things not seen back home. It's funny that I didn't notice this till now...so much for being an attention to detail tactician.

"Well, with enough practice, you'll be just fine." The Scribe Enchanter chuckled as she sat next to me. "Of course you do know to keep that codex hidden correct? As much as we want our friend to be an ally, we can't have her learning certain things about us."

I say nothing as I read over the codex again, doing my best to remember each symbol.

"...I know, it'd be bad if that happens..." I muttered as I trace my finger across the 'codex'. "Unless you plan to reveal such secrets later..."

"That's...a difficult thing to answer," She sighed. "While we did decide to only reveal such a thing when we have no other choice, to reveal when the need isn't exactly necessary. Has mixed results..."

That makes sense, it'll be difficult to just one day go up and say...

'Hey, you know that country we said we're from? Well the funny thing is that it's all made up to cover the fact of us being from another world! Where you are seen as a source to entertain our eternal boredom!'

...You'd be seen as crazy, or completely distrustful, among other things.

"Well, I've done all I've can..." The red-haired woman says as she stares at me. "The rest is obviously up to you, of course you'll have some assistance here and there."

"So what now? More revelations or offers to be taken under your wing?" I joked as I placed the 'codex' safely back into the journal.

"No, more of a question," She says as she pulls out something from her person. "Do you know what this is? And it's particular meaning?"

"...Is that a tarot card?" I asked as I stared at said item in her hand. Somehow it looked familiar...it had an image of a man holding a stick with a bag at the end of it, with dog right under him. The number 0 was at the bottom...wait...

"The fool," I slowly say as memories start to surface. "It's the exact card you see in that game series..._Persona. _Wait, why do you have that?"

"Before you even start to think about it, I have not entered a certain velvet room." Her hand glows, a second later the card does as well. All before the item hovers away from her fingers, doing it's own little tiny spin. "And I cannot crush this card, or shoot myself in the head to unleash a combat version of my true self while yelling the word Persona."

"Um...kinda obvious since we don't have a TV to climbed into or climb a tower during the dark hour." I stated before smirking at the fun memories at the games. "Though the arcana is the means..."

"...By which all is revealed." She finishes before letting out a small laugh. "So you actually have played them, good to know. So you remember the meaning of the fool?"

"Yeah, it either is nothing or has unlimited potential. That's more or less it..." I shrugged as the card starts to spin a little faster. "Why do you have it though? Was it the thing you had when you first got here or something?"

"Yes," The card slows down and spins in a snail like pace. "I have no idea why, and it's merely a card. The only use I got from it was the idea for my name."

"Huh?"

"It is rather obvious if you know the meaning of the words." She explains as the card slides in between her fingers. "Nai can mean nothing or not, while Kuuhaku means blank. My name in a way can have two meanings...it's so simple yet childish."

How is it childish? Meh, I'll ask another time...

"Well, it sounds really cool." I smirked as I let out a low chuckle. "And much more original than mine, I just used two different names."

"Rather obvious when you have the necessary knowledge." She shows off a small smirk, before putting away the card. "At least it's better than Jon's...his brother can be rather superstitious at times."

"So why did you want to show me that?" I randomly asked.

Nai sighed as she rested her head on her palms.

"In truth, a vain hope to the reason why we are here in the first place. After so many years, we have not come close to an answer."

"So all of you really have been here that long." My eyes widened a little. "Damn...that...just really sucks..."

"It is a bit difficult to adjust, but you end up pulling through. It happens after six years...at least for me."

Six years...then Jason's claim of five years is actually true. Just how old are they all...

"Your wondering how old and how long we've been here aren't you?"

"Yeah..." I admitted weakly. "Sorry, but it's kinda one of the first things someone may wonder about."

"Well at least you played the game...Jason had to be briefed on a lot of it since he only played a little bit of it." She chuckles to herself. "And thankfully we're in Awakening...it could've been worse...we all could've ended up in either Birthright or Conquest."

Huh?

"Birthright? Conquest? Are those games?" I asked, a little confused to what she's talking about. "Or something else?"

"Oh, your not familiar with Fates?" She shrugged. "Well you missed out on something good, since it was a lot of fun."

I could only shrug, "So what now? Just talk about random things to pass the time? Not leaving till the morning..."

Unless a certain someone plans to ditch me...I'm never gonna stop thinking that aren't I?

"Well...have you heard of something called Steins;gate?"

That could only make me smile, "El...Psy...Congroo."

* * *

"..._Go ahead and try to hit me if your able..._" Suki hummed as she scribbled into the book.

"_Can't you see that my relationship is stable..._" Her Onee-chan hummed as well as.

"_I can see the way you hate the way we intermingle..._" Both sung in sync, not even looking at each other.

"_But I think your mad because you're single!_" Her Onee-chan yelled before laughing, stopping the whole thing all together.

"Onee-chan, you ruined the rhythm..." Despite her complaint, Suki smiled as she placed her feathered pen to the side. She turned to look at her elder sibling...

"Heh, think Olivia can sing this?" The raven haired sister asked as she adjusted glasses. "Might just teach her it..."

"But she'll have to know the story about it." Suki reasoned. "Which is what we're doing, so what happens during the song again?"

"Our two gem warrior beats the snot out of a wannabe orange hedgehog!" She states as she crosses her arms. "Knocking out the ship's power in the process...then...I forgot what happened next."

"You have your notes, right?" Suki asked as ran a hand through her hair. "It should be easier to remember with them."

Currently the two of them were back at the workshop, Jon had asked Lucina to stay with him, likely to spar with her and try to talk. Part of her is a little worried. The story of Jon and Chrom fighting to the point where the prince made a hole in the wall was still fresh in their minds. Sad that she couldn't see it, there might have been valuable notes and schematics off of that...

What they were doing as of now, was a bit of a side project. They were currently rewriting or technically writing stories, ones they remember from home. It was first thought of by her Onee-chan, who first shared a story with Olivia and the dancer loved hearing it. Even though it was something called _Plastic Memories_ though the specifics were not shared. Her Onee-chan never said why...she remembered seeing a small tear.

What ever the reason, her raven haired sister saw the potential of releasing these stories into this world. While there was some hesitance due to the time period they were in and the fact of culture differences. In the end, it was supported because it was something to pass the time...Jon. Something to potentially profit off...Jason and Anna. As well as a way to provide knowledge, morals, and being seen as a Da Vinci like character...Nai.

Okay that last part was a bit exaggerated, but the Scribe Enchanter did seem to be thinking that. Edward didn't seem to care, but became supportive when the idea of tales of his profession would be told as well. Since it may give him more work, it wasn't surprising he took the position.

As for herself, it was so they don't forget their home. She wonders if everyone else has started to forget a little...as some have been here longer than her.

Suki shook her head, not wanting to think on the subject.

"Oh, now I remember!" Her Onee-chan's timely exclamation bought her attention. "They ended up crashing with the ship, not before a certain green gem escaped their grasp."

It took a minute before Suki herself remembered. "Oh, then they survived by...okay let's see how I can put it in."

While not being much of a writer or story teller, she was willing to write the stories to the best of her ability. Of course it's a bit easier since it's proofread by everyone.

They haven't actually finished one or had it published, mostly because of time and money issues. While Anna did say that she can find the investors, it'll be much more difficult to find the people to help make copies. Since there is no printing press, at least as of yet, another on going project.

There, apparently there's rumors of a really small number of mages know of a special enchantment. This enchantment can somehow take words from pages of a book and can copy them down in a empty page! Of course if it were true...it's not something that is used casually. Just the concept alone means that it's also used as a means for espionage and stealing. So it means that if there are those who know how to make the enchantment, keep the knowledge closely guarded.

Not likely to be offering lessons anytime soon...

Of course, Nai had tried and failed to attempt it based of what she heard and her own knowledge. As of now it seems to be far from what she is capable of...but that shouldn't be too long.

"Okay," The crafter said out loud as she twirled her feathered pen. "Let's finish this so we can get back into Neptunia. Haven't finished the Lowee arc yet..."

"Heh, I do like Blanc more than Vert...flat is justice! Better than those cow udders any day..."

"Um...did you say something Onee-chan?"

"...Nothing."

* * *

**Shink!**

Jon couldn't help but think of the time he sparred with Chrom. It was...rather enjoyable to say the least...the prince was obviously well trained and a natural in combat. He out ranks him in skills and strength, the only difference between them is experience and potential.

The swordsman had to learn from the ground up, giving him the chance to learn and survive in this world. While the prince spent a majority of his life in comfort, he hasn't experienced much of the world. But the true differences between them is their potential. The prince is still learning, obviously he still isn't a true master, but as he continues fighting he'll one day reach a level befitting such a name.

As for his daughter...

**Shink!**

...She's likely to do the same thing, except she has more than enough experience.

"Heh, you're pretty good..." Jon smirked as he lowered his sword. "Reminds me of my spar with Sir Chrom...and he was really good."

The princess said nothing as she lowered her weapon, in a way that showed that her guard isn't lowered. It made him smirk more...

"Ready for another round?" He asked as he moved into a offensive stance. She merely nodded as she moved into a stance of her own.

The two charged at each other, their blades clashing at a rapid pace. The swordsman dodged a few slashes before doing an upward slash. The time child jumped back, safety avoiding the blade before performing a thrust. He brought his sword forward, blocking the attack and directing the weapon to the side. Then pushes it back before striking her with the blunt end of his weapon.

The princess gritted her teeth as she jumped back, clutching the area that was struck with one hand. She tilted her head before taking a different stance.

'Should do a little more of this before calling it a day.' Jon thought as he took another stance. 'Wouldn't want to cause a an accident and leave a hole here too...'

* * *

_Not much has happened after giving that story. Other than doing some small talk with Nai, she's a huge fan of Steins;Gate._

_We ended up talking about different forms of time travel, from the all to familiar back to the future one, the one with a certain blue police box, to finally...the Steins;Gate version. She had interesting ideas on that version for sure..._

_We were also discussing which version that Naga used to send the children back. And we agreed it's likely to be one similar to the Steins;Gate one...with some bias...okay a lot of bias since we're fans of that series._

_Didn't really go into too much detail since we would've been in there for hours._

I chuckled as I put away the journal. I was currently back in the room I was staying in. Just lazily laying on the bed with my feet over the edge. Just patiently waiting...waiting...

Please don't tell me that she changed her mind...wait she didn't answer in-

A knock on my door forces me from my thoughts and makes sit straight up.

"Come in," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Hey Math..."

Early after dinner, I offered Lucina to come into my room so I can continue one of the stories. She didn't extactly answer my offer so I just shrugged and headed straight to my room. So she actually here, with the Falchion strapped to her side...does she ever not have it on? Same with that damn mask...

"Alright," I coughed into my hand to clear the quiet that was building up. "So what you want to listen to? I'll let you decide, but if you want to hear a new one I'll think of something."

But what could I use...

"I...I'm interested in hearing something else," She finally says. "I want to hear about that legend...that Suki's last name is from."

Oh right, she's interested in RWBY, she was staring at those drawings. It'll make it easier when talking about the characters...though I'm gonna have to wing it due to the tech based stuff. Maybe I'll do the magic excuse...

"Alright, take a seat." I motioned her to sit in a chair. "This will be a bit complicated to tell cause of somethings within it."

"What do you mean?" She asked as she sat down. Funny how she's sitting in a way that show's her being royal. At least those closed legs and politely rested hands on said legs make it look like that. Meh, whatever...

"Well, my home's storytellers and legends are all very imaginative." I rubbed the back of my head. "We think of things that are considered to be impossible, such as the ones I have told you about. But this one is much different..."

"How so?" The princess tilted her head.

"Well, back home while the concept of magic does exist. There is no known person that can wield it, I mean yes Nai and Midori can use it, but that's here in these lands and not back home." I sighed before shaking my head.

"Anyway, due to that we base our thoughts a bit more on the concept of Alchemy. Are you familiar the term?"

She nodded, can't tell if she's narrowing her eyes or not. Damn mask...though at least with this I don't have to explain too much...

"Okay, since home doesn't know how to use magic, we mostly developed ourselves with a version of alchemy known as science." Not exactly true but this should work either way. "As such use of this art grew, so did our knowledge and more importantly our stories and legends. An incredible number of them use these concepts and we are very familiar with them."

"...And this legend is one with such concepts." She stated. "But how does it make it complicated?"

"Well here's the thing..." I rested my head on my palms. "Can you imagine seeing a navel ship? Now then, imagine that very ship being able to rise itself out of the water and sail across the sky like it does in the ocean? Or being able to sprout legs and walk on the ground?"

Damn my love for movies, games and Anime...I hope I don't end up sounding like an asshole.

"That's-"

"Impossible? Inconceivable? Or simply Madness?" I asked, interrupting whatever she was going to say. "For you...a likely yes, but for the people back in my home...plausible. You see...we have the tendency to think and dream of things that are seen as impossible."

This world is likely to do the same thing, possibly sooner. There is magic after all...

"Strange to you, but a normality to us." I shook my head, shouldn't take this in a bad direction. "Anyway, what I just used as an example, is merely a tiny fragment compared to what the legends and stories hold. Let's just start the story, we should have enough time to start off with a couple of back stories."

I crossed my legs and got comfortable. "Long ago, in the world of Remnant...the human race was born into a cruel and unforgiving world. A world where the creatures known as Grimm reside, and set their sights on humanity. Both sides fought one another but humans were on the losing side...until they discovered a power. Something that helped them fight back and survive...it was known as Dust and it forged their future..."

* * *

Nai yawned as she paced herself to a familiar location, the desire to sleep runs through her almost tempting. Even though there was still plenty of time before sunset, but she must hurry and get this done before anyone suspects anything...by anyone she means one person.

She quietly walks to her intended destination, holding something in her hand. A simple piece of paper, with an important message.

'He better make it,' She thought as she picked up speed. 'Otherwise things may not go well...gonna have to use the crow.'

After a few minutes, she reaches her destination, the bird coop. Moving towards one of the pens...

"Hello Little Mao," She said as she opened the pen. "Time for a delivery."

The bird, Little Mao, looked at her with it's crimson eyes. Yes, crimson...a trait that is not considered normal...at least back in their world. Here was another story...

Little Mao cawed then by instinct moved forward and stood still ready for what's next.

"That's a good little boy..." The redhead smiled as she folded the paper and properly secured it to the bird. "Now then, be a good boy and go back to Edward. He likely missing you right now along with Emi."

The crow cawed at the mention of the last name. A sign that is was going to be serious.

"Okay then," She smiled as she opened a near by window. "Fly off then Little Mao."

The crimson eyed crow stepped back before stretching it's wings then flies right past her, through the window.

The Scribe Enchanter merely closed the window. She had trust in the fact that crow will finish it's job.

"You know, I still don't understand how some of the animals here can be a bit more intelligent then the ones back home."

She didn't need to turn to know who's voice it was.

"We are in a different realm Jon," She slowly stated as she turned around. "Anything is possible, so of course some animals here displace some level of intelligence. Though crows and ravens had already displayed a incredible level of intelligence."

The swordsman stared at her as he was leaning against the wall, his face was neutral. Finally he sighs...

"What have you done now?"

"Straight to the point then," The redhead crossed her arms. "Well I merely sent a message to Edward. It's been a while since we've done so..."

"And?"

"And I may have told one of our guests that he may be missing. When in reality they'll end up encountering each other...in Donnel's village."

The swordsman groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"I knew you wouldn't approve..." The Scribe Enchanter leaned head against her palm.

"Not exactly that," He said as he shook his head. "It's just that your the one that agreed that Edward should meet the Shepherds in Donnel's home village. Why change that now?"

"Because I actually met her," She stated honestly. "And I felt a bit sympathetic, for obvious reasons."

"What exactly do you intend to happen?"

"In truth, I don't intend anything." She shrugged as she tilted her head. "I'm merely helping our guest see an opportunity, it's up to her to take it. I'm just a spectator now..."

"And that opportunity is?" Despite the asked question, his face showed that he knew what she meant but wanted to hear it.

"She doesn't have to be on her own. She can gain the allies she needs to reach her goal. Hopefully she sees that..."

Jon sighed, "It doesn't matter now if I approve it or not. You just tied up our hands...gonna have to get Robin to patrol that area. Screw the subtleness..."

Nai smiled at that, they both knew if that Jon tries to correct this. Then Lucina may become suspicious of them, at least more than she possibly is. So he'll have to be more direct, but he's not doing it to one up or challenge her...

"Yes, you do have a farm boy to recruit and people to save. While our princess may gain the services...of a Witcher."

* * *

**A/N: Well that took some time to do.**

**Anyway, as said up top of the chapter, something is to be said. **

**As hinted, some subtle and some rather obvious. Things in canon will change, but in what direction and how cannot be said at the time. Just giving out a fair warning to what may happen in the future...**

**That aside, as usual read, review or find something else, there are such more fics out there that are actually quite good.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Randomanimelover13: **** Well this may be one of those kinds of stories. Only time will tell...**

**Still, I understand what you mean, updating this faster may gain more attention. The problem is that I'm generally busy, while it's not normal for me to update after two months. (A real busy time...) A month to three weeks is more or less my average...mostly due to me being in college and trying to focus on assignments and work. **

**I wish I can decrease the time it takes to update, but it's sadly not that simple for me.**

**Expercia: Thanks, hope I don't disappoint.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Once more, shifts within views.**

* * *

"Onee-chan where did you leave it?"

"How should I know? You tend to bury things under your projects and schematics. You really have to clean this place...you might trip and hurt yourself."

"Hmm, is it under here..."

"...And you just ignored me...great...now I feel so loved."

"Um..." Was all I can say as I yawned before slowly taking a sip from of my cup. "So...why am I here again? And why so early?"

I was having a good dream too...not that I can remember it right...but I know it was good. It had something to do with me playing chess against...dammit was it Blanc? I think I was also losing...or winning since a giant axe had threaten me some part into it. So maybe it was Blanc...meh, whatever it was a good dream.

Odd dreams aside, Suki and Midori, well Midori had came into my room, told me to get dressed and dragged me into Suki's workshop. Why? Have not a clue...at least I'm sitting down and drinking some good tea they've prepared. It's strangely bitter yet sweat, how's that even possible? Then again I only ever drank green tea...

"Well..." Suki starts to say as she looked at me. "I...wanted to ask you something. It's not really important but...I still want to ask."

"Oh, so what is it?" I asked as I placed the cup down on a table next to me.

"Well I...oh, there it is!" She pushes some schematics and drawings before pulling out a small book.

"A book?" I tilted my head as she started to approached me.

"Well...this is the thing I wanted to ask you about..." She slowly hands the book to me. "Nai-chan did teach you how to read the language here right? Well this is part of it..."

"Hmm..." I slowly say as I read the title of the book. "Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari...The Rising of the Shield Hero?" That's...a rather long title, still I...can guess where this is going...surprised that this is in English and what assumes to be Japanese from the title...expected the 'common' language used in this world. Why isn't it a better name than common...

"Well..." The crafter nervously fiddles with her fingers. "I wanted to read it to-I mean I want you to read it to Marth."

Pretty much what I expected...maybe I should tell them what I've been doing with Lucina. Okay then, time to have a little fun with this...

"Oh, is that all? Sure that shouldn't be a problem." I simply shrugged. "But can you give me a quick summary of what this story is about? Cause not sure if the she'll like it or not...she did like Spice and Wolf. So if it's something like that, it can work."

Suki was staring at me, her eyes were widened. Obviously she's surprised by my answer.

"Wait...you told Lucina stories from home!?" With that yell/question, she ends up right in front of my face. "Which ones!? Did you tell her about Rokka no Yusha!? Danmachi!? Madoka Magica!? School Live!? Akame Ga Kill!? Kill la Kill!? What about Charlotte or Black Rock Shooter!?"

Crap, too close, too close! Maybe I shouldn't have said anything...

Thankfully Midori comes to my rescue, by prying Suki away then _gently_ patting her on the head. Which left the crafter showing off a cute blush, guess she realized what she did.

"Okay..." I awkwardly start to say, before placing the book on the table. "Answering your questions, I only told 'Marth' parts of a few things. Which were Spice and Wolf, Hyperdimension Neptunia, and finally RWBY. But I haven't gotten far with each of them...mostly due to time and remembering them correctly."

Which reminds me, I really should follow up on Spice and Wolf...maybe I should do rotational story based thing. Where I tell her one story then another the next time and go back to the first one. Not sure if that would work. Plus I'll have to write down notes on which story I told her so I won't forget it. This is probably going to get complicated...

"Wait...Neptunia and RWBY?" The crafter asked as she moves Midori's hand away. "What exactly did you-"

"Went as far as the first game where Neptune was kicked out of Celestia and lands in Gamindustri. So pretty much the prologue..." I picked up the cup of tea before taking a sip. "As for RWBY...I only got to the trailers...so pretty much describing the cast and give some background information. Heh, she seemed to show interest in it."

Though it was a bit difficult to describe the tech stuff...never thought I would have an interesting time trying to describe 'simple' things from home. From a train, to a scythe that is able to turn into a freaking sniper rifle! Speaking of firearms...I was hesitant on describing said weapons since the concept shouldn't exist here...yet.

Though I was barely able to play it off as types of 'weird' looking metal 'staffs' that can SOMEHOW shoot small metal 'arrows' by using 'Dust'. Thankfully the 'I have no idea what the storytellers were thinking but let's just role with it' excuse kicked in...had to use it to avoid further questioning. But at least she liked the story...

"Well, so this shouldn't be a problem then." Midori pats the crafter's head again, earning a small complaint from said person. "Since you've been doing this for an unspecified amount of time."

"Yeah, though that time wasn't that long..." I muttered as I placed my now finished cup of tea. "Still...what's the story about? Did you guys make it up? Or was it something from home?"

"Well it was something from home... and I'm not gonna say anything else..." The scythe user shrugged as she smirked at me. "Let's just say that you'll definitely like it..."

"Onee-chan," The crafter sighed as she moved Midori's hand once more. "I don't think it helps being vague about this..."

Deciding to ignore whatever Midori was going to say, my eyes turn to the book. Might as well skim it to get an idea...out of curiosity I picked it up and flipped open a page.

For what felt like an hour or could have been a few minutes, I quietly read the story. Interestingly, there where a few drawings of the characters. They were obviously done by Suki who seemed to have done in her best in them. Probably doing what she can to make it similar to the original artwork...if there was any. I never heard of this story before...but from reading a number of pages. This is rather...

"Interesting..." I muttered as a smirk grew on me. "Not even that far in, the protagonist get's tricked and betrayed by a complete bitch. Poor Naofumi...he was played right from the start."

Plus this is a mixture of fantasy yet had game like mechanics from RPGs. Though it seems to lean more to fantasy than RPG...interesting. Yet it has the touch of dark elements to it...wonder what's in store for that so called hero.

"Well he did think it was a 'nice' fantasy world..." I hear Suki mutter, which made me look at her. "But he should've payed a more attention to what was around him."

Clearly, though in his defense I would've acted a bit the same in that situation...though I would've been more cautious. That aside, I really do want to read the rest of this. Lucina might actually like this...even though it's a bit dark...meh, we'll see how it goes.

"Well, guess I have another story for the camp fire." I smirked as I closed the book. "So you wrote this down from memory? And I'm guessing it's not the only one...is it?"

Suki beamed at the last part, understanding what I meant. "Well...there are a few others...want to see them?"

She couldn't have asked that in a better way.

"Sure, why not?"

* * *

Jon was sightly annoyed...scratch that he was...irritated. Borderline frustrated...if that even makes sense.

He sighed as he rested his head in his hands. Before leaning back on the chair he was sitting in.

"You know if you keep doing that, your going to look older than me little brother." His brother who was sitting across from him spoke, not even looking at him. "Which isn't a bad thing..."

Both of them were currently in the stables, while Jon had insisted on just borrowing one of his horses and leave. His older brother wouldn't allow it...he insisted on talking to him first before he sets off. The swordsman knew what the subject would be about...

"Oh, you do hate being the eldest..." Jon let out a mild chuckle. "Especially comments about your age, say didn't you turn twenty-"

"Please don't even start..." His brother muttered as he shook his head. "Great...I'm starting to feel old...I'm not even close to my thirties..."

The swordsman could only laugh. "So how's the married life? Just as terrible as people say it is?"

"As much as I want to talk about of how I've dealt with being married to someone who has _identical_ sisters and cousins." The merchant shook his head. "I'd much rather talk about what the hell is bothering you..."

Jon sighed. "Nai has schemed behind our backs...again."

"What's she done now?" His brother asked, not even sounding surprised by this. "Did she try to find a certain sweet loving thief, again? I'm not sure he's in Ylisse yet...though Anna's sister could spread word of a job offer-"

"Not that at all, Nai convinced our guest that one of our's have gone missing..." The swordsman shook her head. "But it's just a way for her to meet our monster slayer. Easy to guess what'll come next..."

"...Nai wants Edward to follow her..." His brother stated, still not giving any emotion. "Not really surprised...Nai has been thinking up a bunch of ideas like these lately."

"True, but she said that she wanted to present an opportunity to our guest." Jon sighed once more as he rubbed his forehead. "To have her gain allies for what's coming...and I'm sure it won't stop with Edward."

"So pretty much have our guest form her own Shepherds..." Jason muttered, sounding a little bored. "Rather simple when thought out that way. Still...that's a bit interesting..."

"Another group working in the background, fighting for the same reasons we are...an advantage gained for us and the Shepherds. Makes sense since we do need the help...and we do need more ways to find the other children. Actual ones that can work..."

"And now your starting to sound like Nai." His brother smirked as he rested his head on his hand. "It's a wonder why she chose to be an enchanter instead of a tactician."

"You don't have to be a tactician to plan then execute strategies..." The swordsman rubbed his forehead. "Still, our hands are tied...before I left, I heard that Maribelle will be on her way back home to Themis."

"And that means it's only a matter of time..." His brother's face became serious. "Then from my guess since I traded along the border a few times...we have less than a month before what we expect to happen...happens."

"I know..." Jon could only sigh, while he did talk with the Troubadour, he found it really difficult to not attempt to subtly warn her about what will happen. Which made him feel guilty...as both of them are what can be stretched as 'friends'. She did seem to tolerate him, guess as Lissa would put it, she was starting to warm up to him. Still...both of them are apart of the Shepherds, they're both comrades in arms...it felt wrong not doing anything. And yet, he simply wished her safe travels and to be careful...nothing else. Not even a damn hint...

"And now you look guilty," His brother shook his head. "...You've become friends with them haven't you?"

The swordsman nodded, "It's starting to feel a bit wrong to be doing it how we are. Even though it's for the best..."

"Heh, well at least it shows how caring and loyal you are. Fitting to your 'soldier role'..." Jason smirked. "Though hopefully you didn't think of anything that might have triggered a d-"

"I know where your going with that so don't even mention it." Jon shook his head. "You can be so superstitious..."

"Of course, since I'm not the one with a certain name..." His brother shook his head. "Honestly it's like you and Edward have a death wish..."

"Says the merchant that holds the name that can be referenced to a lot of things...including a machete wielding, hockey mask wearing lunatic." Jon tilted his head. "I'm surprised you don't have that particular last name...or any for that matter. Really? Just 'Jason'? I thought your more creative then that."

"It's easy to remember..." The merchant muttered as he tried to reason with him.

"If you wanted it to be easy, should've used your real name." Jon rolled his eyes. "Still, I should get going, with luck I can convince Chrom and Robin into patrolling the area today and leave tomorrow."

"Gonna use the 'My friend is in danger cause he's helping civilians threatened by bandits! So please help me save him/her!' scenario?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I can wave off the matter of not mentioning him before. Plus I could bring up his skills and profession, might attract Chrom or Robin's interests. Though that's if we make it in time..."

"And for your taste in melodramatic crap, you could just run straight back." His brother jested. "That or ride the horse straight into the castle..."

Jon shook his head before getting up and moving to one of the stalls. "I'm going to take the black mare, hope you don't mind if you don't get it back. Frederick hasn't gotten a new horse yet...thought he might like a gift."

"...Fine just make sure he keeps her in one piece alright? Don't want to hear that she got eaten by a wolf or wyvern...or a damn griffon."

"Yeah, hopefully it won't happen...would be such a waste to your prestigious care."

"And now your being melodramatic...asshole."

* * *

"So Adlet claims to be the strongest man..." I muttered as I read the book. "Well...he does have an interesting fighting style."

"Well in a fight," Suki twirled her feather pen. "He does things that would be considered cowardly here, but it really gives him the ability to fight enemies physically stronger than him. I really want to make some of his weapons especially that blunt sword that drops poisonous spikes, the non-lethal kind."

That somehow gave me chills up my spine...have no idea why, it really would be a useful weapon. As well as that fighting style, which pretty much is like a trickster. If I can actually do something like that...why didn't I heard of Rokka no Yusha sooner? Might have great to watch it before I arrived here...probably missed out on some good Animes.

"Suki...remember what we talked about when it comes to making poison weapons?" Midori sternly asked, not even looking up from her own book. She was reading something...Plastic memories? Have no idea what that is...kinda curious now...

"No manufacturing of poison weapons until Edward teaches me how to make poison properly," Suki let out a disappointed sigh. "But he never teaches me, even when I ask nicely..."

"Cause he knows you're not ready for it," Her elder 'sibling' replied. "Besides you'll probably get bored of trying to make those weapons anyway. Like the time you tried to make a sword out of mana...though the good thing that came from that was Nai's eyebrows were nearly singed off...heh, that was funny."

Okay, that really sure if I want to ask about that...also why am I thinking of a lightsaber right now?

"I didn't get bored of that," The crafter defended as she too giggled. "I just...thought of taking a break before coming up with a different design. Since the first one was nothing but a handle and a very thin blade. Which couldn't handle the strain Nai was causing it, maybe I should of used a thicker blade. Unless...the trick is that there shouldn't be a blade at all. Like in Animes...and you just have to will it to shape it! Yes, that might be it!"

"Um...Suki? Suuuki?" The scythe user looked at the crafter, who was currently drawing something. The pace of her feather pen moving across the paper...was something to look at. You can hear the tip scratch against the paper...

"Oh gods...I did it again didn't I?" The green eyed woman said as she face palmed herself.

The crafter ignored Midori as she continued working on another schematic. It's her second one, the first one had something to do with some kind of sword. So far she had drawn a thin blade with a simple looking handle but oddly enough there is an empty space between the blade and the handle. Wonder what that will turn into...if she actually gets back to it.

Suki and Midori have been pretty busy, or really had nothing else to do, cause they showed me several other books. Spanning from familiar names to some I never heard of before. From the content each one had, it looks like they've done their best to write down what they remember. While some of the things looked like it was improvised to the best of their ability. They aren't writers, but they did pretty good all things considered.

"Um..." I closed the book I was reading before turning it on it's side. "The heck you mean by again?"

"Suki...really likes getting into her ideas," Midori said as she closed her book as well. "So much so, she has tendencies to get really absorbed into a single project, ignores what's around her and somehow makes something. Thankfully it's something that isn't bad, just Suki being the cute little sister that she is. And there are good things that come out of it...like my scythe and armor."

"Oh, wait she made your scythe?" I really shouldn't be surprised by that.

"Of course," The green eyed woman smiled as leaned against her palms. "If you hadn't noticed, the design-"

"The design looks similar to your namesake's," I say as I cross my arms. "With some obvious differences...how do you even use that thing? Other than the simple attacks I've seen you do..." Kinda wondering about advanced ones...

"Well then, might as well tease you." She holds out her hand, a second later green air was dancing at her finger tips. "After learning the basics in both magic and my scythe, I ended up figuring out ways to use my scythe...in an interesting manner."

She rests her other hand on the book she was reading. It glowed before it started to hover above her leg.

"As you can see, I applied my mana into this book to make it float in the air." Said book hover towards her other hand. "I'm able to control it's direction and height but I'm much more limited when compared to our 'scribe enchanter'. But when I use an additional form of magic."

The book stopped above her hand, slowly green air started to swirl around the book. It slowly spins in the direction the air was moving it. It does a series of twirls, spins and even opens and closes. Before it closes again then straightens up and...just stays there.

"Okay not the best demonstration," The scythe user mutters. "But you get the idea, if I apply two different forms of magic simultaneously. I have better control. Now think, if I can do that with a book, what would happen if I apply this to something heavier?"

...Whoa, she'd be able to use her scythe differently from anyone else. If she can make the scythe move in a three dimensional manner...depending on the distance she can use it. She wouldn't be limited to just using magic and the weapon by itself. Well...I do remember saying that her 'class' combines magic with her primary weapon...guess this is what she meant.

"There's limits to this aren't there..." I stated as the book slowly hovers back on to her leg.

She nodded, "As I said before, I'm not as good as Nai at this kind of thing. I can only perform certain techniques, even then the distance I can do is short. Can't go past five feet...I'm still trying to master it, so I only use it when I really need to. Which hasn't happened yet..."

Still though, it sounds like it can be quite effective, kinda curious to see it for myself.

"Onee-chan..." Suki's soft voice catches our attention. "...I'm hungry want to see if Nai's awake and already cooking breakfast?"

The scythe user stared at her for a few seconds before giggling. "Of course food snaps her out of it, sure Suki let's go. You coming Leon?"

"Yeah, why not..." I say as I got up to follow them.

* * *

A forest can seem silent yet it is always loud in some way, from the slightest rustle of leaves to the groan of the tress themselves. All it takes is for someone to be still and open their ears from there on they will be...

"Bored..." The young man muttered as he leaned against his palm. He was currently waiting for what he was here for, he had set up and prepared accordingly. Based upon what was he told to him and what he found out. Now all that was left was the dastardly waiting time...which always seem to take forever.

The young man sighed as he steadily gripped his weapon, a steel sword, freshly sharpened. He hopes that it will be the only thing he'll be using today, if not then he has other things to assist him in his tasks.

He sighed as he continued to sit in his chosen spot, doing his best to patiently wait. He did his best to relax but have some guard, as he didn't want to be caught off guard.

"Why didn't that crafter make a music player..." He muttered to himself as he sighed once more. "Should've borrowed a couple of books from Na-"

**_Snap!_**

A sound of twigs being snapped caught his attention.

'About damn time...' He thought as he slowly got up from his spot. 'Been waiting two days for you to show up.'

Slowly from the trees a boar emerged, except this wasn't an ordinary boar. It was roughly one and a half meters tall, with large deadly looking tusks. Dark brown fur, with two distinctive matching silver streaks across it's back. Incidentally, because of those very streaks, the name of this particular boar emerged. The twin streak boar, a rather unoriginal name by the locals, is indigenous to this area. Though they are normally about less than a meter tall...

By local standards, these boars are often nuisances since they can approach farmlands and injure a number of people while consuming crops. Though that in itself is often a rare occurrence under normal circumstances. As they are very territorial and usually just chase away those who enter their territory unwelcome. They aren't that intelligent, at least in comparison to a normal boar in these lands.

However there are times when these type of boars start to act with an odd and dangerous behavior. While not truly known, the locals believe that ever few generations. A single twin streak boar rises among the populace and somehow leads the group it was born in like a 'chief'. Rather strange considering that boars don't lead packs like wolves, at least to the young man's knowledge.

While leading said pack, the 'chief's' often travels past their territories. Inevitably leading to a place of an easy food source, human villages. It causes a lot of problems on both sides. The known way to push the boars back home, is to get rid of the leading boar. Doing that somehow makes the other boars go to original home territories...which is rather odd in itself. But things in this world never make any sense...

Either way, since this boar was currently on it's own it shouldn't be that difficult for him. Though he would have to be careful, as he had seen the wounds and scars that can be inflicted by this type of boar. And he wasn't interested in earning any of those today...so he wouldn't be laid back about it.

The boar's nose was sniffing the air, before looking at him then lowering it's head. Giving the sign that it was going to charge...if he does anything to provoke it. At least by normal standards...then again he is where it considers to be it's territory.

The young man crouched a little, slowly picks up a stick and throws it at the beast. It bounces off of it of course but no sooner he did that, the boar rabidly charged. The beast was easily closing the distance between them.

He jumps to the side before slashing the side of the boar with his blade. The boar stopped a some distance away, before turning to it's opponent. There was a line of crimson on area he had struck.

'Damn...' He thought as he got ready. 'Thought it would go deeper, that hide is tough. Should've gone for the legs and flipped it.'

The boar sequels in something resembling rage before charging again. This time the man decided to be serious...

He casts a blast of wind that causes it to be pushed back. He then casts it again which made it fall on it's side. He lowered his hand as he approached it.

'All right time to-'

His train of thought was interrupted by the boar suddenly squealing before getting up and running out of sight.

"Dammit," He muttered as he turned in the direction it ran off. "Should've just let it run into my sword."

He sighs before carefully walking forward, he was certain that it would come out and charge him again. As well as the chance of the other boars getting involved, that squeal was rather loud. He really should've done something simpler...maybe poison.

As he walked through a few bushes he was met with an expected sight.

The boar that he wounded was there waiting for him, thankfully there were no other boars visible. It squealed once again before charging at him head.

The young man sighed as he casted another blast of wind to make it fall of it's side. This time however he was on it within seconds, bringing his sword up and striking it downward...ending the boar.

...Sometime later...he arrives at the entrance of a village.

"Oh, your back! And I see you've done it, the beast is dead." The village leader greeted him.

The young man was rather tired, mostly because he had to drag the dead boar back to the village. Suppose that he could've just cut off a tusk and show it as proof of the kill. But he would've have to come back for it...even though he would be using his horse. Either way it would've wasted some time...

"Manage to kill it by itself," The young man muttered as he dropped the boar next to him. "The other boars should start to leave within a few days. Till then take caution when the fields are being worked, or when ever someone's strolling the woods. Now, my payment please..."

The village leader's head lowered a little as she looked between him and the boar.

"Young man, I would like to pay you to the agreed amount..."

The young man stayed silent, he knew what was coming...and he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"Between the bandit raids and threats of the those Risen. As well as the boars eating our crops, afraid to say that this village cannot afford to pay to what was agreed." The village leader bowed her head. "I apologize, but we can only afford to pay a quarter to what was agreed."

'Son of a bitch...' The young man gritted his teeth in annoyance. 'That's fifty pieces of silver. Barely half the value of a gold coin...dammit. Still...it was obvious that this would happen...it will get worse with that coming war.'

He sighed after a minute of silence, "Alright, I'll accept what you can afford, but I'll be taking the tusks of the boar as payment as well. You can have the meat, hide, whatever is that is left that can be of use to your village."

"...Thank you, young man," The village leader smiled, before turning around. "I'll be back with your payment, as well as your horse."

The young man only nodded as he watched her leave.

'Dammit, it's always difficult to gain any coin in Ylisse.' He thought as he got to work on the boar. 'Still it makes sense, bandit raids have been on the rise even before the appearance of the Risen. Though it's also partially because Plegia has been backing and performing such raids.'

The young man sighed as he slowly stood up, he was holding two tusks. He takes out some twine and slowly ties the two together.

'These are a pretty good size,' He thought as he exams them closely. 'If I can get these to a certain crafter, she'll come up with something interesting. Maybe some kind of pair daggers...or something else only she could think of.'

"Young man," The familiar voice of the village leader breaks him from his thoughts. He turns to see her approaching with his horse, along with...

"This crow had shown up sometime before you came back. It seems to have a message for-"

The crow immediately cawed as it flew off the horse and on to the young man's shoulder. He wasn't surprised by the sudden action.

"Hello little Mao," He greeted the bird as he places the tusks down before gently patting it's feathers. "Missed me that much?"

The crimson eyed crow cawed as it pecked at his hand before turning to show him what was on it.

'Message from home, eh?' He thought as he took it from the crow. 'Wonder what it is...'

Carefully he unfolded the message and stared at it's contents.

_-Edward_

_Skipping the __pleasantries, something interesting has happened while you were away._

_Another one of us has appeared and been brought back. He's been filled in more or less on what is needed. His name is Leon, and so far he's has earned our approval and trust._

_Other than that, nothing else has been happening on our end._

_Although, Jon wants you to head to Donnel's village immediately. He's bringing the Shepherds there sooner than expected. Due to rumors of bandits gathering at the fort near the village. No doubt if they gain a proper foothold, they'll be an annoyance later on. As well as a danger to the people in the surrounding area..._

_So for a matter of helping the people, get yourself there. Now! _

_Besides if you make it in time, you might just end up in the Shepherds. Better chance to make some coin in that group...than that profession of your's. _

_-Nai_

'Well that's a little unexpected,' Edward thought as he folded up the note. 'Still something's rather off...wouldn't be surprised if she just so happen to forget mentioning something. It's Nai after all...that crimson bit-no not gonna call her that anymore. Not after what she did to those bandits...so much fire.'

He smirked as he put away the note. 'From where I am...it won't take too long to reach the village. Hopefully I arrive in time to prevent the villagers from being captured.'

He turned to the village leader. She was holding a coin purse.

"Your payment..." She says as she hands him the purse.

The young man felt the weight of the purse, though he doubted they would try to cheat him out of his already low payment. It didn't matter either way, at least he was payed something...

Little Mao cawed as it flew off his shoulder and landed on the horse. Who didn't seem to mind at all, since she was used to it.

'Already wants to go...' He thought as he approached the horse and put the coin purse inside a bag it was carrying. 'Really did miss me...'

The horse let out a snort before turning her head, it slowly nuzzled him and he gently patted her neck.

"Guess you missed me too eh, Emi?" He smiled as the horse nuzzled him a bit more. "You and Little Mao really are too attached...I wasn't even gone that long."

He lifts himself onto the horse before looking at the village leader one last time.

"Till we do business again, Witcher." She says before lowering her head in goodbye. "May Naga watch over you."

Edward could only nod as he grabbed the reins and rode off.

* * *

"_Mirror, Mirror...tell me something...who's the loneliest of all... _" I hummed as I wrote down the last of the lyrics.

"That'd definitely be Noire...she's such a lonely goddess." I flinched as I turned to see Suki behind me. Dammit, I really gotta start being aware of what's around me.

Breakfast was uneventful, other than the fact that Jon apparently had left in the morning. Something about him performing his duties as a Shepherd. Is it wrong to say that smells like partial bullshit?

So after that Nai asked Lucina to come with her. While I just patiently wait at the entrance, staring at the Naga statue while remembering lyrics to songs. Somehow, I still got bored...and I even tried distracting my self by checking the knapsack to see if I left anything behind. Other than Midori's gauntlets which I just left on the bed, at least I won't take them by accident again.

Also, I just noticed that Suki is holding a sword, a familiar one at that.

"Yeah, well she does have that lonely heart title." I finally respond before closing the journal. "Heh, that tsundere goddess. So what is it?"

"Since your going to leave in a little bit..." She slowly says. "I'd thought I should give back the gift I gave to you a while ago."

"Oh, right the sword...it's called Ciri, right?" I said as she nodded then handed me the blade. "I'll be sure to take care of it..." Is it wrong to hope that I'll never use it? Nah, it's just being naive and foolish...

"Do you know how to clean it and maintain it?" She asked then narrowed her eyes when I shook my head. "Well, it's not really difficult. You just have clean it when it gets dirty from dirt...or other things. You also have to sharpen it every once and a while."

She reaches behind her back then pulls out a few pieces of paper and...is that a stone? Wait isn't that...

"A whetstone?" I stared at said object as she handed it to me. "Huh, never thought I'd actually see one..."

The whetstone was flat, a bit long yet kinda big yet medium sized. At least from it looks like to my point of view, as I said before I've never seen an actual one before in my life. So not really sure what to classify it as...

"I also have papers that gives tips and instructions on how to clean and sharpen your blade. As well some other things..." She said before she carefully folds said papers and hands them to me. "Though word of advice, when you want or need to sharpen the blade. Have the Kenki demonstrate it to you first...it'd be safer that way."

True, wouldn't want to accidentally cut my fingers off. Wait a second...

"Did you just say Kenki?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes. "And just happen to call 'Marth' that?"

That's...holy shit...why didn't I think of that! That's a good name to call Lucina...heh, sword princess. Cute and straight to the point...and possibly stubborn like that damn princess.

"W-well...I...um..." Suki blushed as she fiddled with her thumbs. "I thought it was fitting since-"

She was cut off when I started chuckling.

"Meanie..." She pouted as she crossed her arms. Oh, she thinks I'm laughing at her...

"Hehe, sorry..." I smiled as I rubbed the back of my head. "It's just, I'm laughing at myself for thinking up that particular name earlier. It's kinda obvious it's a good name for her..."

"Oh, so you know about Danmachi as well." Suki smiled. "Think she'll like to hear about it?"

I merely nodded at the question. She really wants to share stories with Lucina doesn't she? Might tell Lucina that one as well when if I 'accidentally' call her that name out loud. Kinda surprised I haven't said her real name by accident...and I hope I didn't just jinx myself. Really don't want the Falchion dangerously pressed against my neck...one time was good enough.

Still, if I do call her Kenki...I just hope we don't end up picking up any girls in a dungeon. Terrible joke...but I'm actually kinda serious...

"Ah, Suki there you are..." The familiar voice of Nai made us turn to see her and certain princess behind her walking up to us. Nai had a satchel on her for some reason...

"Oh, what is it Nai-chan?"

"It is nothing of importance..." The Scribe Enchanter said as she smiled. "As I see that you already came to say your farewells...to your new brother."

Really? Great...probably not going to live that down. At least they haven't spoke about what I did to Chrom...hope the prince will eventually forgive me for that...or forget about it. Though I did kick him really hard...I hope I don't see Frederick again anytime soon...

The crafter giggled before rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah...I think Onee-chan was probably playing around..."

"Nope, I wasn't!" All of us turn to see Midori approaching us, she was holding a book. With Jason and Anna walking right behind her.

Guess the cliche farewell scene is about to start...

"Now you want to adopt him..." The male merchant muttered as he rubbed his forehead. "Do you ever stop with your antics?"

The scythe user actually chuckled as she stopped in front of me.

"You forgot to take this..." She said as she offers me the book. "Would've been a problem if you left it here."

I carefully placed the sword down before I took the book from her hands. I stared at her then smiled when I looked at the cover. With this...my problems with boredom with be dealt with...for a little while.

"Thanks..." I said as I lowered the book. "Also, I left your gantlets in the room I was staying in. Sorry for not giving them back..."

She smiled then patted my head, "That's alright, you did return them like a good little brother."

Really? Great, she was serious after all...damn it I'm starting to blush. I'm kinda enjoying this...damn me and my desire to have a sister.

"So Leon will actually be my Nii-san?" Suki beamed. "...I always wanted a brother..."

Okay...this...is embarrassing...hopefully it doesn't get any more...and now it feels like someone is glaring daggers at me. Crap, forgot Lucina was right here, who's probably going to kill me later for some reason. Really need to figure out what her problem is...

"Hey Marth," Midori smiled as she stopped patting me. "You two take care of each other alright? The world's a dangerous place, and you'll need all the help you can to survive in it. Understand?"

"...Yes." The princess answers after a few seconds.

"Well then," Nai takes reins of the conversation. "As you seemed to be giving away farewell gifts. I might as well participate..."

She takes off the satchel and hands it to me. "I believe that you'll find use of contents inside."

Quietly I took the satchel from her then opened it. Huh, it's filled with books...wait.

I took one out randomly from the bag and stared at the cover. It's in this world's written language.

"_Strategist's guide_ _to mastering tactics. Volume one._" I slowly read before looking at Nai. "These are-"

"Ways to assist your profession in training." She smirks as she crossed her arms. "Despite the selection in title, these are the best that I can procure. While it came at quite a cost, I feel the investment will be worth it..."

"This...I don't know what to say..." I muttered as I couldn't help but smile. "Thank you..."

I didn't expect her to do that, I was eventually thinking about finding some books to help me out. Otherwise I'd end up winging the crap out of everything...which will be really bad since I obviously suck at that. Some tactician I am...

"Tis no trouble," She shook her head. "Now then, I believe the two of you should get going now. Otherwise you may end up wasting another day here..."

Lucina nodded before doing a polite bow, "Thank you for hosting us, may we meet again."

She motions me to follow her, leaving me to awkwardly pack the books into the satchel. Equip said item before grabbing the sword and follow after her.

"Marth..." I say once we were outside. "Even though Suki gave this, it technically violates our agreement. So you'll have to take it..."

The princess silently stares at me as I offered the weapon. Yep, I'm still going to do this, kinda need to anyway.

"...You should hold on to it." She finally says, making me look at her in shock. "After all...it was a gift..."

The hell!?

"Um, pardon me if I don't remember correctly..." I slowly say. "Didn't you say under no circumstances I'm allowed to carry a weapon?"

"...Yes, but I also said you are allowed to when I specify so." She tilted her head a little. "And I am specifying it now..."

Oh, kinda forgot about that part, mostly because it was only brought up a few times. Still if she's okay with it...then that means...

"...Alright then..." I say as I lowered the weapon. "...Thank you, you won't regret this..."

She's starting to trust me a little, a tiny amount but she's starting to. I'm actually gaining a bit of progress...it may be much, but's more than what I started with.

The princess merely nodded before motioning me to follow her again.

Don't know where we're heading but since it's Lucina...guess it's bound to be interesting.

* * *

"Suki...is your main weapon ready?" Nai asked the crafter, not even looking at her.

"Not yet Nai-chan, I just need to improve some things." She answers before sighing. "I just need certain types of materials...why do you ask?"

"Can you write down a list then provide it to Jason? I have a feeling you should finish it...soon."

"Understood, Nai-chan. I'll be right back with it." The crafter nodded before turning to leave to her workshop.

"Okay, what's going on?" Midori asked as she crossed her arms. "What are you planning now?"

"Heh," The Scribe Enchanter smirked as she leaned her head against her palm. "It isn't what I'm planning, it is what I've already done."

"What...what does-"

"Nai has gone behind our backs and arranged a meeting between Lucina and Edward." Jason interrupts Midori. "Only that the two of them don't know this was arranged. And the meeting place happens to be Donnel's village."

"...I'm not surprised that Jon told you this Jason." Nai's smirk grew a bit more. "That man rarely keeps any secrets from you."

"Kinda difficult since he is my brother..." The merchant muttered, his wife Anna stayed quiet and seemed intrigued by the conversation.

"Nai...mind telling what the hell you were thinking!?" Midori asked as she sounded like she was doing her best to stay calm. Though green air was slowly starting to swirl around her. "Didn't we plan for Edward and Donnel to be recruited at the same time?"

"All I can say is that I wanted to present an opportunity to the princess." The redhaired woman answered as she tilted her head. "If you want more than that simple answer, then take it up with Jason as I'm sure he figured it out while Jon was explaining."

The battlemage stayed silent for a few seconds, before the green air around her dissipated.

"...I'll go help Suki, with luck we can finish her weapon with a week or two." She slowly says as she adjusted her glasses. "Then have her start training again..."

"Understood, please get it done." Was all the Scribe Enchanter could say before her fellow mage turned and headed toward the workshop.

"You know..." Anna finally spoke up, gaining the attention of remaining two. "She wouldn't be as upset if you told this to all of us first. We'd all understand what you're thinking."

"I know Anna..." Nai sighed as she crossed her arms. "While I believed that all of you would have agreed to this. It was the timing that was short, it's likely that this opportunity may have been missed if I hadn't acted with such haste."

"We get Nai," Jason muttered sounding a bit bored. "We're just getting tired of you doing things like this. So what do you want us to do? Figures you have something planned for Anna and me..."

"Anna and I," She corrected to which the merchant rolled his eyes. "And I need you...for something that is likely isn't legal."

That caught the couple's attention.

"What do you want us to do?" The redhaired merchant asked.

"I need you to find me a thief, a certain one that with orange like hair and happens to love sweets. I have a job offer for him..."

* * *

_It's been more or less, a week or so since we left Yisstol. At least I think it has been, wasn't really paying attention...mostly because I was focused on the events during those days._

_I did manged to read the book Midori and Suki gave me to Lucina. And she's enjoying it! _

_Why couldn't I have found Tate no Yuusha before I arrived here. This story is really good, even with it's dark parts, such as the act of slavery. While Lucina seemed understandably upset on the choices on what the main character had done after some events that happened to him. She was still willing to listen to the rest of it, not sure what she thinks of Naofumi (Main character). Guess he's different from the legends of heroes she probably grew up with. _

_Still, don't want to get too far into it, cause I want to go in a certain pace. Otherwise I'll have to wait for awhile before we see if Suki and Midori have continued with it._

_My training is going alright, even though I still get my ass handed to me. The benefit is I'm starting to memorize her move set, as well as some stances she takes when she fights me. It's helped me last a little longer for each spar...I hope I can get strong enough soon._

_Rather not be a hindrance when we get into a fight._

I yawned as I put away the journal.

We're currently taking a small break to rest before we move on to...where ever it is we're going. Lucina has said anything, which I'm not really surprised...it's possible that she's looking for any signs of the other children. And she's not going to tell me...

Hopefully we find them, I'm sure where they could be or have even arrived just yet.

"Time to move," The princess's voice brought me from my thoughts.

I simply nodded as I got up and strapped Ciri to my side. Lucina was able to teach me how to properly strap it. It took a while for me to get used to the weight but now it doesn't bother me as much.

Still surprised she let me hold on to it...

After a couple of boring hours of walking, we happened upon a village. Though something seemed a little off...

"Where's everyone?" I wondered out loud as we slowly walked into the village.

The buildings were simple looking shacks and houses, with fields that are adjacent to it. All of them looked empty, something's really wrong. The ground was filled with foot prints, but they were scattered everywhere, it even had animal like foot prints. Wait, is that a doll?

"The hell happened here?" I picked up the doll then rubbed some dirt off of it. It didn't look like a person mostly because it look like it was torn and smashed on. Seriously, what happened...were they attacked by Risen or something? No that isn't right, there would be bodies and smell of decayed flesh. The air here smells clean...so what else...the buildings appear to be intact as well. Whatever happened, the villagers didn't seem to put up a fight...did they just up and leave?

"Hmm..." The princess hummed to herself. I turned to see her walking up to the side of a building. I dropped the doll and followed after her. She stops at the side then reaches her hand out and pulls something out of it.

It was an arrow, at least what was left of one anyway. The princess gripped the object she stared at it. Finally she drops the thing and looks at me.

"Bandits..." Was all she said, her voice filled with venom.

"Crap..." I muttered as my hand went over the hilt of my sword. "They must have taken the villagers..."

Lucina nodded as she started looking around, then walked a couple of feet and crouched in front of some foot prints.

Likely to see if there was a direction they all went in. Now that I look at, some of the tracks due look ones for horses. Damn...I knew that we'd had to face against these kind of people, just didn't expect it to be so soon.

...Fighting, metal clashing against metal, blood...death. NO, don't think about it right now, just...see if I can help in anyway. I know that it will lead to an inevitable thing, but I have to help...I have to do something.

"...No good," The princess said as she stood up straight. "There are too many tracks while some have been erased away, and it seems to be days old."

Well, that's obviously not good.

"What n-"

"Help!" A scream interrupted me and made us look in a random direction. There was no one there yet that's where the scream came from.

"Move!" Lucina nearly screamed at me as the both of us ran in the direction.

Crap, either it's one of the villagers, which is way too convenient or it's a trap set by the bandits. What ever it is we have to check it out...

After a few minutes we come across a field, some distance away there were two people. One was chasing the other.

"Oy, git back here wee piglet! Or I'll skin ya alive!" Yelled the one chasing. From this distance I can plainly see him wearing some kind of fur and was holding a sword.

"Shit, that guy is a bandit..." I muttered then a blueish blur passes by me. It was Lucina, she sprinting to the aid to what I assume to be a villager.

In a short time she was able get between the villager and the bandit. Stopping the pursuer in his tracks...

Shit, I better get in front of the villager in case that guy somehow get's past her. I quickly ran to the villager, who collapsed on the ground, seemingly from exhaustion. In a minute or so I got between the villager and Lucina before drawing my blade. Not going to take a chance...

"You alright?" I asked the villager not taking my eyes off the bandit.

"Yea..." I he answered weakly, he sounded exhausted. He must have been running for quite a while. Also, his voice sounds weirdly familiar...I swear I heard it before...

No, think on that later just help Lucina if I need to. Even if this bandit looks like trash...

"I'll ask ya again." The bandit said as he pointed his sword at the princess. "Who the hell are ya!? Some noble come to protect his lands, well this is Roddick's lands now!"

Roddick?

Lucina stared at the bandit, with her back to me and that mask I couldn't see what face she was possibly making. She quickly drew the Falchion and got into a familiar offensive stance.

"Wah..." The bandit's faced became confused as he stared at the blade. "That blade, no it can't be. Shite, it's Chrom and his Shepherds!"

...What?

"Roddick's not gonna like this!" The bandit yelled as he quickly turned and sprinted away into a nearby forest. Leaving me and a possibly confused Lucina behind.

Did he...did he just think Lucina was Chrom? The hell!? How's that possible?

I shook my head as I turn to look at the villager. Hopefully he can explain what the hell happened. And he looks completely unconscious, great that'll help us-wait a second!

Purple hair, dressed in hand made looking clothes, an X scar on his cheek, and a pot on his head.

Holy shit, it's Donnel! The hell he's doing here!? Unless, this is his home village and we just triggered the event to help save his mother and the other villagers. That explains the name that bandit had said, it was the boss!

Shit, he's going back to warn him!

"Marth!" I yelled as I turned back to the princess, who look at me. "We have stop bandit before he-"

"Ahh! Ack!" A scream was heard from the nearby forest.

What the...did that bandit found someone to kill? Or just died for no apparent reason?

Lucina gripped the Falchion as she stared at the forest. She looked ready to fight against whatever may came out of it.

A few minutes of intense silence passed before a random crow exited out of the forest and for some reason glided above us. After that a horse with a cloaked man came out and slowly approached us. A minute or so later he was twenty feet away from us.

His face was covered by the cloak so we can only see in the direction his head was facing. I think he was mostly staring at Lucina cause he only looked in my direction once.

Finally after another minute or so, the man turned the horse. Revealing someone that was tied to it...

Wait, that's the bandit from earlier! Did this guy just so happen to catch him for some reason?

Lucina stared at the man before lowering her sword a little. The man then slid off his horse and slowly approached us.

"Caught this man running from you earlier, seems to be part of the bandit group in the area." The man said as he stopped then pointed at the unconscious Donnel behind me. "I assume he's one of the missing villagers?"

The princess and I say nothing as we stare at the guy.

"Guess I have work to do," The man sighed as he removed the hood of his cloak. "By the way what are your names?"

"...What is your's?" Lucina asked, lowering her sword a bit more.

The man ran a hand over his brown hair then against his rough looking beard. There was a necklace sticking out of his cloak. It was silver looking and in the shape of a animal...a wolf? Can't really tell from here...

"My name is Edward Winchester," That man said as he crossed his arms. "I'm a Witcher."

...The hell's a Witcher?

* * *

**A/N: That...took way too long to do. I would've done this sooner but been really busy doing assignments for school and getting ready for tests and projects. Really has taken a lot of my time from this fic. Hopefully soon enough I can update at a quicker pace, till then don't be surprised if it takes me a while to update. **

**As usual, read, review, or find another fic that is so much better than this one. There are tons of them...**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**RoseWarden: Answering to review in order.**

**It really shouldn't be surprising that the Outrealmers are doing a betting pool. Kinda helps with the boredom and thinks up random things for them to talk about. Pretty much things people do to entertain themselves. **

**Suki's shield idea is rather nice, if she can figure out how to actually pull it off. Since there is a difference between thinking of something and actually doing it. **

**Anna just loves to tease doesn't she...she's really fun to write. **

**On the last thing of that chapter, which originally was a teaser of sorts since it was on the anniversary. Yes, Nedarix is the 'mysterious villainous' man that stalked and resurrected the bear and wolf. His connection to Henry and the Grimleal, are unknown as of now...hopefully we'll learn soon enough. Which was kinda hinted...**

**Thanks...I seriously did not expect this to do well. Hopefully I don't disappoint in the long run.**

**While they may seem like it, the Outrealmers are not that good...they just learned to be well prepared. If that makes any sense...still we'll see what happens.**

**Lucina is in many ways like Pyrrha. Both are strong and are set on certain path of destiny that is shaped by their choices. As well as the two of them are looking out for what can appropriately be called fools. Since Pyrrha has Jaune and Lucina has Leon. **

**Funny since the two males are technical fools who have yet to realize their true potential.**


	23. Chapter 23

**As come to be expected there will be shifts within views.**

**Fair warning, there is the content of blood, some mention of gore and other things that make this story rated mature.**

**Possibly ominous intro aside, on with this long chapter. **

* * *

The sense of pain. Something that is all too familiar, both a limitation and a tool for survival.

So many ways to define it, so many ways to experience it...it was something...the man has experienced all too well.

"...E-enough." The man says as he gritted his teeth. "Lift the curse..."

A few seconds after he said that, he felt the pain leave his body giving him the sense of relief and exhaustion.

"Nya ha ha, wow Nedarix, you're getting better you big overachiever you!" His friend said as he madly laughed. "You lasted nearly five minutes. A while ago you couldn't last five seconds..."

The man, Nedarix, stayed silent as he slowly breathed in and out. While he didn't feel anymore pain, this kind of training always exhausts him of his strength. It was a good way for him to not only increase his endurance when it comes to curses, but be able to sense said curses and mana at a high level. Something he has been planning to deal with for quite a while...

Currently he and the dark mage Henry were still within the forest. For the passing number of days, they carefully advanced themselves within their talents and while gaining new ones...

"...That may be true," He finally says as he looked at the silver haired boy. "But I still can't break it or return it just yet. That isn't acceptable for what we'll be dealing with soon."

"Still," He continued as he stood up from his spot and cracked his neck. "It is progress...how strong was the curse this time? I know it's still in lethal levels..."

"Strong enough to kill a bear twice over." Henry answered with his signature smile.

"...That...wasn't what I expected." Nedarix admitted as he tilted his head. 'His abilities have gotten stronger...even with my necromancy abilities. I doubt I'll be able to reach his level in terms of pure dark magic. He's likely able to resurrect four freshly killed mountain wolves and have perfect control. While I struggled with just a single one...'

"Caw!"

The man turned to see several crows circling some distance away. A few seconds later a familiar scent reached his nose. It annoyed him...

"Risen..." He said as his hand balled into a fist. Slowly he turned to the mage. "How many do the crows sense?"

"...They say about ten." The mage answered as he brought out his tome.

"Eliminate them while I pack." The man instructed as he brushes past his friend. "It's about time for us to leave."

His response was nothing but a laugh and the beating of crow's wings. He didn't need to turn to see that his friend was already gone. While he wouldn't admit it, he was somewhat envious of the young man's ability with animals. He seemed to have a natural affinity with them. It reminds him of when he first met the silver haired mage, there were so many crows ready to protect him.

Had he any hostile intent, he doubted that he would've been able to escape with his life. Much less even lay a scratch the young man, he was still relatively very weak those few years ago.

The man rubbed his neck as he reached his mount. The horse ignored him as he swiftly packed a few things into it's saddlebags. Before he moved to cover his tracks, to leave no trace of him or his friend ever being in the area. While he doubted that anyone or anything will bother to pick up on their trail. It was wise to be safe then end up dealing with something caused by a simple mistake.

By the time he was finished with his task, the scent had started to go away.

"All done!" He heard his friend say before he appears from behind a tree with a few crows flying away from him.

Nedarix only nodded, he didn't expect anything less.

"There hasn't been any deceleration of war from either Ylisse or Plegia. Though it's only a matter of time..." He thought out loud as he looked at his friend. "As we discussed before, I need you to head back to Plegia, once you hear that war has broken out. Find our Taguel friend, and tell her that the Ylissean Exalt's life is in danger. Then meet me where we discussed, understand?"

While he knew that the mage will do as he's told, he thought he should be reminded of the tasks that need to be done. Events must proceed as they are...at least for now...after that...

"You got it! See you later Nedarix!" With that goodbye, the young man was instantly covered in crows before disappearing from his sight.

The man stared at the spot where the silver haired mage was for a few seconds before letting out a small smile.

"See you soon, Henry."

"Caw!"

A single crow lands flies in and carefully lands on his shoulder. It stared at him with it's dark eyes, showing it's intelligence. This one was obviously left behind by his friend. He had guessed that the mage would have eventually do something like this.

'A way to keep an eye on me...while you're away.' He thought as the crow flew off his shoulder and landed on top of his mount. It cawed once more before becoming silent. It was obviously ready to leave...

Nedarix could only smile, before moving to his mount. There was much to be done, and he will see to it that it's all complete.

All for the sake of...

* * *

"Jon, are you listening?"

"Huh? Oh...you were saying something Robin?"

The snow haired tactician looked at him for a second before sighing.

Jon couldn't help but mentally sigh, he'd been distracted by many things. Mostly things that make him concerned about a few individuals...

"Are you alright?" She asked him as she fall in next to him. "You seem distracted since we left Ylisstol."

They were currently a few or so hours away from their destination. From Donnel's village...at least in terms of distance. They do have to stop for rest, food...and planning...

As of right now they were currently ahead of the group traveling to there. They were basically scouting ahead a short distance away to see if there's any obstacles in their path.

The swordsman was glad that he was able to convince Chrom to move this quickly. Having Robin there and the excuse of 'A friend being in danger because of he's fighting off bandits for villagers' really does help get the point across. Plus it did help to make it seem like that he was truly desperate. Anna's lessons when it comes to making 'deals' works so well...

Though he was sure that his friend, Edward would be able to handle any bandit group. As long as he doesn't do anything foolish or remotely stupid. Then again...he has his profession...where he typically engages creatures and other things that tend to be stronger than humans...by himself.

"...I...been worried about my friend..." He finally says, breaking the lingering silence. "I trust in his abilities but..."

"That's understandable..." The tactician said as they continued to match each others pace. "Still if he is good as you say he is, then he should be fine. What did you say his profession was again?"

"He calls himself a Witcher," He answers. "Some form of monster slayer, he claimed that it's based off some legend from gods know where. Anyway, in simple terms he goes around villages to see if someone will hire him to take care of any local wild life threatening them. He either drives it off or kills it for coin..."

"So, he's a sell sword that hunts monsters?" Robin asked as she tilted her head. "Isn't that a common thing mercenaries tend to do?"

"Well, yes and no, Edward is very insistent that he's not another simple mercenary." He sighs as he rubs the back of his head. "He's stubborn in that topic, something he tries to distance himself from. Don't know fully why...but that's his private reason. Wouldn't really ask him...why the sudden the interest though?"

"Well, a few times...you did subtly list off some of his skills to Chrom. Possibly trying to make him think on the possibility of recruiting this man." The violet eyed woman stared at him. "Likely cause he is your friend and you trust him, still it be wise to know something about him."

'Yes, but if you did actually knew him...' He thought before he mentally snickered. 'It'd be an interesting conversation between those two. He'd probably get along with everybody after having a drink or two. Though if he and Maribelle meet...again...then he's on his own. Can't defend him after his little 'insult' to her...why did he had to go and do what he did?'

"True," He says as he look forward. "You can talk to him yourself, hopefully this is all for nothing and there was nothing to worry about."

"I hope so too, but there have been reports of bandits in that area." Robin said as crossed her arms. "And since there happens to be an old fort there as well, they'll likely gain a foothold and cause a lot of problems."

"Well there goes my hope..." He muttered. "Still, there is a village near that fort from what I remember seeing in the maps. If any of these of reports are remotely true..."

The violet eyed tactician nodded in understanding. "As soon as we get in range, we'll send Sumia to scout out the village and the fort. With luck nothing has happened yet."

'Yet I know that wouldn't be the case...not with this feeling I'm getting.' Jon thought as he balled his hands into fists. 'Hopefully we make in time to provide support...otherwise it'd really be for nothing. Better not let anything happen Edward...'

* * *

Edward Winchester was surprised to say the least...

He had made his way to Donnel's village, when he had found it was empty he immediately checked the area to find any signs. There were signs of struggle in the houses, as well as some blood in a few places. He really didn't need anymore evidence to guess it was bandits. He hoped upon Emi and scouted the nearby area.

What he eventually found was an old fort at least the remains of one, and it was crawling with bandits. From what he had seen, they patrolled what's left of the walls of the fort but not much around the area itself. He doesn't know why, either they were lazy or really stupid. It didn't matter either way, since it allowed him to stay long enough to guess how many bandits there might be.

He was able to see five patrolling the walls, he did see four come in and out to change shifts or other things. But so far no villagers or anymore bandits...at least from what he can see...there's likely more inside his guesses were they may number from ten to twenty. Though that's one of his problems, he doesn't know the exact number of villagers or bandits in the fort. Nor their exact location...

After quietly moving away from the fort, he get's on Emi again and heads back to the empty village. Seeing if by chance if there were maps or schematics of some sort of the fort. When he was close by there he could have sworn that he heard a scream or shout in the distance near the village.

Then he encountered that bandit. He came out of nowhere and since he was wielding a weapon. It made the young man react quickly by casting a simple wind spell, knocking the bandit against a tree. Unfortunately the force caused the bandit's neck to be broken and killed him instantly. Which irritated Edward since the bandit could've had useful information if he was interrogated.

After a minute to see what the bandit had on him, which wasn't much. Just a couple gold coins, a silver and even copper ones. He strapped the body to Emi and rode off with it. He intended to dispose of it away from the area, since it was likely that this one was doing something and was heading back. And since he was dead, his friends will come to see if why hasn't he returned...it'd be a bit easier for the young man if they think he just disappeared randomly. Than find his corpse and report back to their boss...making his job more difficult.

He just didn't expect to see the future princess with a seemingly random kid and what looked to be an unconscious Donnel on the ground.

Thankfully he was able to play it off then introduced himself to the two and get their names as well.

Unsurprisingly the princess called herself Marth, while the kid called himself Leon. That surprised him even more...

Since Nai had sent him a message that had mentioned that name. The name of a new member of their little group. It wasn't a coincidence that there happens to be a kid with that name that is traveling with the time traveling child. He guesses that the Scribe Enchanter had a hand in this...though he partially didn't care. It was her after all...she does tend to things like this, thankfully with good intentions...usually.

Plus the kid was holding a familiar looking sword, one that Suki tried to give him but his profession required something more...durable.

Still, this can be use of to him...it'd be difficult for him to take on a bunch bandits alone. Even though he's done it plenty of times before...

"He still unconscious?" Edward asked as he entered the room.

After the short awkward introduction, the pair had taken Donnel back to the village. Then placed him in a bed in one of the houses. While they were doing that, he had taken the opportunity to go and discreetly store of the body of the bandit elsewhere. Some distance away from the village, that way no one will notice the smell of a dead body.

While he normally would have just burned the body in some hole he'd dig up. He started thinking up an idea...hadn't fully thought it out but it may not hurt to have it around if it is needed. If not then he'll just discreetly burn it without anyone knowing...

Thankfully they didn't seem to notice that he was gone for long. At least one of them didn't...he wouldn't put it past the princess to be a perceptive one.

"Yeah," Leon said as he looked at the young villager. "Not sure when he'll wake up."

"Well, while we wait for that..." The young man said as he leaned against the door frame. "Normally I guess people would ask what they're doing here or who they really are. But we don't have that kind of time...as we have a major problem. And from what I've seen so far, I'm pretty sure the two of you would want to help..."

That made the pair stare at him.

"As you two likely had guessed," He gestures to the empty village. "The villagers here are all missing, cause of the nearby bandits. As obvious as that is that is not the main problem. It's the fact that they took them back to their camp. Which happens to be an old fort from the old days of Ylisse..."

"Which obviously means they're organized, and have the advantage." The kid muttered as he looked at him. "And you just so happened to scout it didn't you?"

"Correct," Edward nodded. "They have archers and axe wielders patrolling what's left of the walls of the fort, but not the area around it for some reason. Whatever the reason it leaves an opening..."

"But you don't know the layout of the fort do you?" The kid asked as he narrowed his eyes. "Or possibly the number of bandits, or villagers locations. Otherwise I assume you would've already saved the villagers."

"True, I was on my back here to this village to see if by chance there were any maps or schematics of the fort."

"...If there are any," The princess finally speaks up. "Then it'll possibly be within the village's elder's house...though that may not be likely."

"That'd be convenient if it was," The kid mumbled before shaking his head. "Still, assuming there is something to provide a layout, what about the number of bandits? And the location of the villagers, we have to be sure of that."

"Which leads back to the unconscious villager in the bed." Edward sighed. "It's possible he knows where his people are, and has a better guess on their numbers."

Leon looked at Donnel for a second before looking back. "...Wait didn't you captu-"

"Let's just say that bandit will never be in a state to answer to anything ever again." The young man said neutrally. "So that's not a option..."

The kid's eyes widened a little before he seemingly forced himself to shake his head. "...So I assume the two of you will go and look for any chance of a map? While I keep watch of Do-the villager?"

"Depends," He looks at the princess. "What do you say Marth? Care to help?"

The future child simply nodded.

"Alright then, I'll start by the elder's house." He started to say as he moved away from the door frame. "You check the others, look for anything that can provide some layout. If you must, read any journals or diaries, it's possible that some villagers might have visited the fort before all this. And kid, call us if the boy wakes up..."

* * *

I sighed as I leaned back on the chair.

It's been...maybe an hour after Lucina and Edward left to check the houses. Leaving me here all alone with a knocked out Donnel...

So I'm guessing this is the Edward everyone else had mentioned before. Though I don't know for sure if it is him...

"...Dammit," I whispered as I grabbed the pot that was on Donnel's head. I removed it after I put him on the bed, it actually feels sturdy and looks like it'll fit comfortably on his head. That and he probably wears it to cover up his really curly hair. It really is curly...does he even comb it?

Kinda wonder about the genetic diversity among these people in this world. Some have natrual blue hair, purple, some that is white as snow. Home just has the simple brown, black and reds wonder how is it different from here...

I gripped the edges of the pot before shaking my head.

Damn, I'm desperate enough to think of hair...so I wouldn't think of the fact that I may have to eventually **_kill_** someone.

I know that it's a necessary thing, that if I don't...I or someone else like Lucina may die instead. All because I failed to do such a thing...dammit this isn't a game or a poorly written story. I have to do some things in order to survive in this world...and that unfortunately includes possibly watching the life being drained from someone's eyes. Regardless if they deserved it or not...

I...don't even know what I'll feel if I did that. I don't even want to know...dammit I just hope I don't end up enjoying it like some sick monster.

Maybe I should ask Lucina for advise, maybe she could help with this...otherwise...I'd be useless in the long run. Wonder how she deals with this...and she's still likely a bit younger than me. Poor kid...

"...m..a...a..."

Huh?

I turn to see Donnel moving, his eyes were still closed but he was making odd sounds. Is he having a nightmare or something?

"M...MA!" With a really loud scream the kid's eyes opened as he straightened up. He's panicked eyes quickly looked around the room before setting his sights on me.

Okay, have to calm him down...

"Easy there," I say as I place his pot down. "You've been out for sometime now. Don't strain yourself..."

"Who...are ya?" He asks in a low voice as he placed a hand on his forehead. "Wher-"

"My name is Leon," I answer interrupting him. "My friend and I saved you from that bandit. We're here in this village I assume to be your's."

"Which is currently empty and we want to ask you about that." Edward makes himself known as he enters the room. Behind him was Lucina who seemed relieved to see that Donnel was alright. At least from what I see...

Wait when and how...oh yeah Donnel's scream was really loud. Kid has powerful lungs...

"Name's Edward the person behind me is Marth. What's your's kid?" The necklace wearing man asked as he crossed his arms.

"Donny-er Donnel," He said as he lowered his hand then his eyes widened. "Wait, you's got to help-"

"We are going to help you and your people kid," The 'Witcher' interrupted him. "Just need to ask you a few things."

Donnel stared at him before nodding.

"Good now all I need is a simple yes or no." The man instructs as he walks up to the kid. "I know the other villagers have been taken to the fort. Do you know the layout of the where their keeping your people. Or at least where they may be at?"

"Yea...in the dungeon."

"Good, now then do you know the number of bandits there are? Or at least a estimate?"

"No..." He said as he shook his head.

"Guess we're still blind on that one..." Edward muttered as he shook his head. "Still at least we know where they are. Worked with less information before..."

"Alright then Donnel," He says as he crouches down to pick up the villager's pot from where I placed it. "I'm something known as a Witcher, and my job is to help people. Protect them..."

"I help those in need, for a fee of course, but we can discuss that later." He offers the boy his headgear. "Right now I need you to help me save your people. Are you able to wield a weapon?"

"I...yea.." Donnel was staring at him with wide eyes before shaking his head. "I can't fight! I ain't never stuck a pig before!"

The 'Witcher' chuckled before he stands up and places the pot of the kid's head covering his eyes.

"Kid, no one is born a warrior. They are made from strength of one's heart and desire to fight for something." He slowly says as he took a step back. "Besides a sickle, pitch fork, and scythe are good weapons where I come from. Sure bandits are thicker than most crops but in the end it's all the same in principal."

The villager stayed silent as he adjusted the pot so he could see. After a few seconds of silence he nods his head.

"...I don't know how much help I'd be..." He slowly says. "But I'll try..."

Edward smiles, "Heh, alright then Donny."

Did...did Lucina and I just watch something that looks like from an Anime!? And Donnel used some of the lines he used when talked to Chrom...what's with that.

...Forget it, deal with the main problem.

"So what now?" I asked awkwardly. "Any ideas on how to take on an unknown number of bandits?"

Not like we can walk through the front door and ask them to surrender. Really doubt anyone's charisma is that high a level.

"Well, I do have a few ways in dealing with bandits." Edward said as he rubbed his wrists. "Follow me..."

* * *

As soon as they were outside, Edward whistled for his horse, who approached them a minute later.

He removed his cloak as he quickly moved to it's side and unloads a few things from the saddle bags.

"Alright these should be it," He says as he places down a trunk, followed by a sheathed steel sword and a steel chain. While the chain is really good quality, thanks to Suki, he doesn't need it due to the type of enemy he'd be facing. Though it wouldn't hurt to take it along...never know when it'd be useful...plus it works with the knives he keeps hidden on him.

The crafter does come up with interesting ideas...now if only she could make a drill sword.

He opens the trunk revealing the contents inside. A few vials and bottles packed neatly together.

"Each of you take one of these," He says as he takes out a vial and hands it to them. "It's a vial containing a concoction grade potion, it should heal most serious injuries you have."

"Most injuries?" Leon asked as he stared at the vial.

"Well it certainly won't help you if you lose an arm," He muttered as he took the steel chain and started rapping it around his arm. "Still it does help with some serious injuries as it quickly stops the bleeding and heals the wound. But keep in mind you'll still feel the pain from said wound..."

He takes one of the bottles and attaches it to his belt, before strapping the sheathed sword on to his back. He would've have used his other blade which is better in terms of durability and sharpness. But he wasn't dealing with that tough of an enemy. Besides...steel was for humans...

"Now then," He said as he stood up and crossed his arms. "I have a few ideas for dealing with these bandits..."

"What is it that you're planning?" 'Marth' asks as she stared at him.

"Well, since we obviously can't do a frontal assault...since we're really out numbered." He muttered the last part. "We'll likely need to use other kinds of tactics..."

"...Like whittle down their numbers to manageable levels?" Leon speaks up as he crossed his arms. "By either sneaking into the fort and sabotaging them somehow or bringing them out to us...right into a trap."

That made the young man smirk, "Exactly kid, we can lure them out by a certain and eliminate them."

"I get the idea," The kid said as he tilted his head. "But wouldn't that tip them off that someone is taking out their people? Wouldn't their boss just use the villagers as leverage?"

"True but that's if they think a human is doing it."

The kid narrowed his eyes, 'Marth' tilted her head while Donnel just quietly stared. He's a bit surprised that the villager is quiet...

Edward opens the saddlebags and pulled out the pair of tusks. He heard a gasp...

"Those are tusks of a twin streak boar..." Donnel finally speaks sounding surprised. "A large size too, how'd you..."

"Oh, so you know of the beast?" The 'Witcher' held out the tusks. "Then again it can be a problem once and a while around here..."

"Now then I assume you can guess what I plan to due with these?" He asked as put the tusks down. "It does involve the fact that one of their's hasn't reported back."

"...Your making it seem as if the bandit was killed by a boar." 'Marth' summarizes. "That way they'll send out a hunting party, but they'll only encounter us."

"Yes and no, it'll just be me," He corrected. "While I'm sure you can handle yourselves...your needed for something else."

He places the tusks down before turning back to the saddlebags. While he wouldn't admit it, he'd nearly forgot an important piece of equipment.

Slowly pulling it out, he inspects to see if the components were still intact, before pulling back the string and locking it. Then switching the safety on...

"What...is that?" He hears the princess ask as he retrieves a small quiver full of bolts.

"That's a crossbow..." Leon says as he stared at the weapon. "A small hand held version anyway, not as strong as normal ones anyway."

"Crossbow?" Donnel asked as he looked at the kid. While 'Marth' merely tilted her head.

"Never heard of a crossbow?" The kid asked sounding surprised. "Um...well...think of it being a compact bow or something like that. I don't know a proper way to explain it..."

"Just know it's something that's to our advantage." Edward says as he straps the weapon to his side. Then straps the quiver as well.

"Alright then as I was saying," He crossed his arms. "The rest of you are needed for something else..."

* * *

"Any suggestions you have Robin?" Chrom asked as he stared at the map.

"Well..." The tactician crossed her arms. "The village is right here while the fort is over there. Are there any roads connecting the two?"

"None that are listed on the maps..." The prince replied.

"Thought so..." Robin brought a hand to her chin. "Sumia is going to scout the area, but she can't get close to the fort. Likely cause it'd be used by bandits...that is the obvious thing. But this is under the assumption there are villagers at said village."

"But it's likely that they may not be..." Jon finally speaks as he crossed his arms. "It's possible that something may have happened..."

They weren't far from the village now, they just need to scout it to get a quick glimpse on what's going on. The swordsman had decided to see if he could help with the planning in anyway. While also providing the hint of where to expect his friend may be. Even though that was an easy answer...

...Sumia was willing to go and see what's going on. She's proven to be quick and agile when she's riding her Pegasus. He still can't believe such a creature even exists...how can it even fly?

Whatever the case, her Pegasus is healed up from when they originally found it. He remembered witnessing the event where Sumia somehow coming in fast and saves Chrom from being struck by javelins back in Regna Ferox. That certainly surprised him even though he knew that would happen...

"That is true," The violet eyed tactician words brought him from his thoughts. "It's also possible that the village might have been raided. But we would be seeing smoke trails..."

"Well, not all bandits just raid or pillage..." He says as places his hands on the table that had the map. "Some groups of them capture people for ransom or force them into labor or worse things..."

"And since they've been spotted near an old fort that's likely decaying..." Chrom slowly starts to say.

"They will or have already taken the villagers..." Robin finished, her eyes narrowing. "Then likely plan to force them repair whatever the fortifications may need...then when they are done..."

"Sir, is Sumia ready to go yet?" Jon asked the prince.

"She's awaiting the order," He answers, showing a questioning look.

"Then with your permission, I'd like to go with her, Sir." The swordsman crossed his arms. "While I may not be much of assistance to her, I know well enough to say my friend is already at the scene. Scouting and finding a way to deal with the bandits, he's done things like this before. If we can find him before he does something against the bandits. He may have information that can help us."

"That is true," Robin says as she stared at the map. "Any information, whether it's the exact number of bandits or the precise location of the villagers. Should help us tremendously."

"Jon," The prince narrowed his eyes at him. "Your friend, do you trust him?"

"With my life, sir."

"Alright, you can go with Sumia." Chrom nodded after a few seconds.

Jon could only smile before bowing. "Thank you sir, I'll go inform Sumia myself."

Without waiting for a reply he steps out of the tent and proceeded to his destination. As he marched through the camp he couldn't help but look at the other Shepherds.

Sully was sharpening her lance while Stahl seemed to be talking to her. Lon'qu and Vaike were sparing against each other. Virion was with Miriel and seemed to be telling her a fortune. Lissa seemed to be looking for someone, and out of the corner of the swordsman's eye. He swore he saw Kellam right behind her...just a couple of feet away.

He still can't figure out how the knight even does that. He's taller than Frederick and is wearing _orange_ striped armor! Maybe it's some sort of curse...or his ancient ancestors were once powerful ninjas. At least that's what Suki had theorized...maybe Nai could think of something more concrete.

Jon shook his head as he continued on, this has been a common thing to be seen ever since he joined the Shepherds. The group interacts with each other in various ways, some are unique while other were familiar. He remembered when Lissa pulled a prank on him, he had to clean his room of frogs and replace the sheets of his bed.

Till this day he still has no idea what he had done to be targeted by the princess. He decided to retaliate by placing small concentrated amounts of crushed chili peppers in her water cup and passed it off as an exotic tea from a faraway land.

It would've worked, but by some random chance Vaike had came in from training and drank Lissa's 'tea' cup. The results were...interesting...he didn't think Vaike was able to get redder than a tomato...thankfully Jon had a milk bottle on him to counter the effects. He had originally intended of giving the bottle to Lissa when she felt the effects of the drink. As to send a 'polite' request to not try to prank him again, and just become friends.

It worked out better than he expected. She even asked where he got the chili peppers...which will likely lead to some interesting events. He hopes that when Suki and Lissa meet, those two would at least restrain themselves with any prank they pull.

'But knowing those two,' He thought as he kept moving. 'They'll get into all sorts of trouble...'

He finally reaches his destination, a series of tents that acted as a form of stables. He opens the tent flap in and raises an eye brow.

Sumia was brushing the mane of her mount, she sweetly whispering something to it. The mount itself was quiet as it remained still. It was an oddly peaceful sight...

"Ahem, pardon me for interrupting anything." Jon says as he enters the tent.

"Oh, hello Jon." Sumia greeted the swordsman as he walked up to her.

"How is your pegasus doing?" He asked as said mount turned it's head. Likely noticing that the rider has stop brushing.

"She's fine," The rider says as she slowly started to brush her mount mane again. "Her wing is fully healed."

"That's good to hear." The swordsman leaned against a wooden column. "Anyway, I came here to say that'll join you when your going scouting."

"Huh? Why?" She looks at him.

"As you know, I asked the captain to help a friend of mine. Who decided to help the village we're traveling to, by dealing with their bandit problem." He sighs and shakes his head. "By himself no less, anyway since your going to scout to see if there's anyone there. I thought I'd tag along, since I know my friend is there...he's likely scouted the fort and has information the rest of us can use."

The pegasus let's out a puff of air, likely cause her rider is not paying attention to her.

'It's almost sun down and knowing how he is, ' He thought as he crossed his arms. 'He'll be somewhere between the village and fort, probably planning something...if Lucina and Leon have actually made it, and Donnel is there...then they'll definitely help him.'

"Ah, Sumia, Jon there you are." The voice of their leader catches their attention.

'Time to get going,' Jon straightened himself up. 'Better not have done anything yet Edward.'

* * *

Orange light glistened through the tree leaves, giving the obvious sign that the sun will be setting soon. Not sure if the moon will be out or covered in shadows...

"It's through here..." Donnel says as we carefully moved through the forest.

After Edward offered a plan, which was pretty much divide the bandits by a distraction/trap. We pretty much got to work...no one else seemed to have a better plan. Not with the time frame we have...it's likely possible something may happen to the villagers.

There is always a form of time limit when it comes to hostage situations...hope we make it in time.

Still the plan is simple, scout the fort and wait for trap to be set. When that happens we are supposed to sneak in and set the villagers free and get them out undetected if possible. Or if something happens we're likely going to have to fight our way out.

A lot of red flags and bad ideas on this plan but we don't really have a choice. I know the Shepherds are supposed to be the ones that do this, but where are they? Did we trigger the events earlier than what it supposed to be? Dammit...we're likely going to fight after all...

"Here it is..." Donnel whispering broke me from my thoughts.

The three of us carefully leaned against a few trees as we looked at the fort.

It looked like your standard decaying medieval fortress, high walls with some holes in them, a few towers here and there that are collapsed, a large wooden door for an entrance that's also broken. With heck of lot of bandits crawling in it. There's probably more than a dozen of them in there...dammit, this is going to be...

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

No, focus on the task at hand. Check the bandits weapons and armor, numbers...basic stuff. At least from what was in the book Nai gave you...

I quietly stare at the fort again.

Okay there are two guys on this on top of the wall, both are wielding bows. From what I can tell they're wearing a mixture of leather and fur armor. With three other guys guarding it, two with large looking axes and one with a lance. We're too far to see their faces, hopefully far enough where they can't see us.

Guess they actually have guards, since in the game you literally just walked in in the front. Or was it the side?

Plus Donnel had a bronze spear in that mission, here...he has a pitchfork that he's been using as a walking stick. And a sickle strapped to his back, he's seems to have experience using those farm tools. I have to admit that is pretty cool...

"As expected, the entrance is guarded..." I whispered as I looked at Lucina. "Want to check the sides for weak spots?"

The princess nodded then motioned us to follow her.

Guess Donnel's role as a guide is finished...

* * *

"Ah, what smells like shite!"

"Shut it! And eyes peeled! One of ours is missing, and Roddick wants him found..."

"Which one was it? Tom? Mitch?"

"No, those whoresons are back at the fort, the one that missing whas the one chasing that farm boy."

"Ya mean the bastard of the one that broke Roddick's ribs?"

"Ha, poor sod, if he lost the boy Roddick ain't gonna be happy."

"Yea, that be true. Same if he killed 'em, he'd skin 'em alive."

'Three voices,' Edward thought as he hid behind cover, carefully hiding himself while keeping an eye of the body. 'Can hear where they're coming from, they're close...only a short distance from their comrade...at least what's left of him.'

It was easy to set up the body and produce the injuries consistent with that of a boar. His only annoyance was that the body had already began to smell. It was wasn't really pleasant for him and for his horse Emi. Still, it should get the needed result, they'll come back hunting for a boar but what they'll actually get...

Normally if he was alone he'd leave, head to the fort, watch the results happen and get to work. But now...since he isn't he'd rather be sure.

"...The smell is getting stronger..."

"Something must be dead...think it be the boy?"

"No, Gulliver wouldn't risk pissing off Roddick, he wouldn't hurt the boy too badly..."

"It's coming from over there."

'Here they come,' The Witcher thought as he as he stayed still.

Slowly three men slowly walk into view, they were dressed as typical bandits. Ragtag mixtures of fur and leather, armed with an axe, sword and one had a hammer. They were glancing around, trying to find the source of the smell...

"Oh gods!" And they finally see their comrade. "It's him!"

"The hell happened to him!?" Axe bandit screamed.

"Shite! Looks like something got 'em!" Hammer bandit exclaimed.

"...By the look of it, a boar...a large one too. What's a boar doing out here?" Sword bandit wondered as he stared at the corpse.

"Damn, might be one of those twin streak ones..." Axe bandit said. "At least from the size of them holes..."

"...But aren't those far west? Why would one be out here?" Hammer bandit questions as he scratched his head.

"Strange times we living in..." Sword muttered. "The dead are rising and now animal be acting strange..."

'...Didn't think they have some common sense...' Edward mentally muttered as he fought off the urge to sigh. 'Now if they could only hurry up and go.'

"Damn it, we got to report this to Roddick." Sword bandit said.

"What about the farm boy?" Hammer bandit asked as he leaned against his weapon.

"Forget 'em, if one of us was killed by a boar, same thing likely happened to the boy." Sword reasoned. "Roddick ain't gonna be happy, but at least we get to eat bo-"

"Caw!" An all to familiar caw was heard, and it was coming from right behind the Witcher.

The young man inches his head back and glances i to see Little Mao perched on a branch behind him.

'You got to be kidding me...' His gritted his teeth as the crow flew off the branch and landed on his shoulder.

"Caw!"

"It's a crow, but I don't see it..." He heard Axe bandit say.

"...Only one? Something wrong with this...we better check." He heard Sword bandit say then hears footsteps.

Little Mao lightly pecked his cheek, not enough to hurt him but enough to get his attention.

'Dammit, change of plans then...' He thought as he reached for a weapon. 'You better have a damn good reason for this Little Mao...'

As if sensing the annoyance and eventual anger, the crow flew from his shoulder then landed on a branch before cawing once more.

The footsteps continued, he knew they'd be on him in seconds.

Ten...nine...eight...seven...

He brought out a knife and slowly pulled out his crossbow then switched the safety off.

Six...five...four...three...

Two...one!

He moved out of cover and stabs at the first thing he sees...the chest of the Sword bandit.

The bandit staggered at the sudden hit, leaving enough time to take the knife out and slash his neck. He then pushes the bandit away before aiming and firing at his next target, the one with the hammer.

Hammer's head rolled back when the bolt made contact with his forehead, making him drop his weapon and fall to the ground.

The Witcher turns to his next target, then moves to the side to avoid an incoming slash from the Axe bandit. Then jumps back once more to avoid a follow up. He casts a small blast of wind on Axe, knocking the bandit back letting the young man get in close. He stabs the knife right into the chest of Axe then stabs him again before going for the throat.

He pushes the bandit back before taking a step back and letting out a breath he was holding. He glances around making sure the bandits were actually down...

Fortunately he wasn't having an off day...

"Caw!" Except for the fact that certain crow had decided to ruin his plan.

"Okay...what hell was that?" He asked the crow as he holstered the crossbow before flicking the blood off the knife then put that away too. "Why are you here Little Mao?"

The crow cawed in response, which made him roll his eyes in annoyance. Even if the animals in these lands were more intelligent than the ones back home. They still couldn't even understand them...

"Caw!" The crimson eyed crow flapped it's wings before setting off, in the direction of the village.

'The hell is back there?' He thought before gritted his teeth. 'Dammit...'

He knows if he follows the crow, the others won't know what happened...he knows something might happen and he won't be there to help. But he also knows that crimson eyed crow of his never acts this way...not without reason. Usually an important one...

"Better not make me regret this..." He sighed as he followed after the crow.

After a few minutes of running after the crow, he arrives at the village and sees an interesting sight.

In the distance, he sees wings...wings of a pegasus to be exact. Which is interesting because pegasuses are normally seen among the ranks of the Ylissean military...there's rarely any wild pegasus flying around. In this country at least...

Still this means one thing...

"So they finally arrived," Edward said as he crossed his arms. "About time..."

Little Mao flew into his field of vision and landed on a branch. It cawed before looking in the direction of the approaching pegasus...

"Yeah, yeah I understand..." He mutters before moving into the village.

He grabs a pitchfork that was leaning against a wall, stops at a wide open spot. In a few seconds flames sprouted from his hands and onto he pitchfork. He slowly starts to twirl it around as he would with a flag.

'This should catch their attention,' He thought as he waved it a few times before setting it on the ground. He wouldn't have to worry about it burning anything or itself burning. The flames he willed are only bright, it has very little heat, if anyone were to pick it up the pitchfork it'd just feel oddly warm.

Of course if it was Nai doing something like this...the pitchfork would likely feel the same as it was in temperature. As she is the one with the best control of magic, he just ranks second while Midori...can be seen as average in accordance to _Nai's_ standards. Even though the scythe user's ability to deal with her limitations is impressive...

Edward shook his head as he watched the pegasus slowly become larger in his field of vision. He could see the riders, one wearing pink armor for some reason and the other was dressed in what he assumed to be black leather.

He extinguishes the flames from the pitchfork before throwing it some distance away. He had little use for it now...

The pegasus slowly descended and lands in front of him, it flapped it's wings a few times before neatly folding said wings. The one dressed in black slid off first while pink one watched him while holding a javelin.

"Hello Edward," The one in black said as he slowly approached. "Good seeing you again."

"Jon," Edward says as he tilted his head in greetings. "Good seeing you as well."

"I assume you can guess why we're here?" The swordsman asked as he crossed his arms.

"Bandits," He simply stated. "Well good thing your here I can use the help. How many people are with you?"

"Thirteen if you add me." Jon answered. "And that also includes my captain, prince Chrom."

"So the rumors of the prince helping people were true," Edward muttered out loud. "Well this can work, you have questions don't you?"

"Yeah, and going from the fact that the village is empty." The fellow Outrealmer gestures the empty village. "We don't have much time...so do you know the-"

"Number of bandits are unknown, they are held up in the fort nearby and the villagers are likely held within said fort's dungeon." The Witcher cut straight to the point. "And I assume that we are out numbered and slowly running out of time. Plus there are three others that are near the fort trying to find a gap in their defenses."

"Wait there are three others with you? Who-"

"A mercenary calling himself 'Marth', a young boy named Leon and a villager named Donnel. They agreed to help save the villagers despite the risks."

Jon stared at him for a second before cursing and looking at the pegasus rider.

"Sumia, head back to Sir Chrom and tell him what we found out. I'll stay and see what I could do to help..."

The one in pink, Sumia, seemed surprised and confused by the direction of everything.

"I...okay Jon," She says as she grabs the reins of the pegasus. "Please be careful..."

"I will Sumia,' Jon says as he smirks. "Just get to him and let him know everything. And hurry back please."

With a nod the pegasus rider moves the reins making he mount spread it's wings and fly up into the air.

"Well...she certainly wasn't hard to get rid off..." Edward commented as soon as she was high enough not to possibly hear them. "How capable is she?"

"She's good...a bit naive but still good." Jon stated before shaking his head. "Do trust her with my life, but no matter I can guess you to ask me somethings."

"Yeah, why the hell is Lucina here?" Edward asks as he takes out his crossbow and reloads it. "And let me guess Nai is responsible somehow..."

"Correct, Nai had convinced our guest that you were missing and the only clue was that you near here."

"Why do we even encourage her to do things like this?" The Witcher muttered as he holstered the weapon. "It doesn't help that we rarely confront her about it..."

"Cause it often benefits us in someway..." His friend answers. "And as much as I would reminisce about that, we have more pressing matters."

"How long would it take for your prince to get here?" The young man asked as he crossed his arms.

"I'd give him half an hour after sun set which isn't far off, but that's if they all come together. But it'd be better if we finish this before they arrive..."

"Why? What's the problem of meeting the mysterious hero-king named individual?"

"Oh she's not the problem, it's the person she's traveling with. And before you give me a questioning look...let's just say and I'm quoting Frederick, 'He has done a grave and offensive crime to the Ylisse and must pay dearly for it.'"

"Really? The hell the kid do?"

"...He kicked Chrom in the 'royal jewels' so to speak. And since he's one of us, I rather not see him get ripped apart by Frederick. Then interrogated for any possible affiliations with any faction."

"...Shit...what did I miss out on?" The Witcher wondered out loud before whistling, signaling his horse to approach.

"A lot of things, I'll inform you on the way. Let's just move..."

* * *

"One guard that patrols the entire thing, while a few patrol it's sides or in the back, that's interesting." I muttered as I stared from my spot.

For the past ten minutes or so, we circled the fort, pretty much showing off the fact that they don't patrol the immediate area. That's kinda weird...please don't tell me that we're dealing with cocky as hell bandits...as much as that helps...

Forget it...right now we've seen at least five patrolling the exterior of the fort. With a single guy actually doing his job of patrolling the outside, while the others seemed to be half-assing it. They go near the back but then just turn around and go back to the front.

That is leaving some gaps in their patrols, giving at least a couple of minutes of where no one is looking. So that can be of use to us...there were at least one or two archers on the sides of the walls. They overlooked the area then just simply moved on, it mostly seemed like they were watching the inside of the fort.

Likely making sure there aren't any escaped prisoners...at from it what looks like.

So that makes a total of seven or six bandits from what we can see. I remember from the game that the typical amount of enemies were in the upper tens. But that obviously won't be of use here...

"Well...any ideas of how to get in?" I whispered as I look back at the two others near me.

Donnel was staring at the fort, slowly gripping the pitchfork he had brought with him. He's obviously thinking about his mother...as she's one of the ones that were taken. From what I remember...his father was killed by the asshole that's currently controlling the bandits.

Lucina on the other hand looked completely focused, she was looking the fort with such an analytical feeling. Like she was looking for any sign of a weakness...then think of a way to deal with it.

Wonder how many times she's done this before...

"...There's a small hidden opening..." She finally speaks looking at me. "In the west side, it's small but a person can fit through it. It may lead into the inner areas of the fort, possibly near the captured villagers."

"Huh?" Wait...what opening? There was nothing on that side but really thick bushes...but if there is. How could she even see it? The bushes are really thick and about a couple feet tall...I didn't notice anything that looked like a door or a crack if that's what she was referring to.

Does she have eagle vision or something?

"Okay...that's rather convenient..." I mutter, choosing to believe her. "So we have our way in...but what now...we're supposed to wait until a bunch of them leave. But that was a while ago..."

"Something might've happened..." Donnel says, earning a nod from me.

"Yeah...let's assume that we may be on our own..." I say then raised my hands. "Not saying that something bad happened, maybe something's delaying Edward in whatever he is doing. So what should we do?"

"...Every minute that passes is a risk to the villagers," The princess stated as her hand rested on the hilt of the Falchion. "We must enter and set them free."

I know that look...she's determined in the task at hand, problem is we're out numbered and have little info. So we can't barge in and fight it out recklessly...nor can we risk arming the villagers and set them against the bandits. I doubt any of them know how to fight, plus they may not even be in any shape to fight.

What about taking out the boss first? Maybe it'll scatter the bandits, and in the chaos we can get the villagers out. But there's too many what if's...so much can go wrong plus these bandits may actually be loyal enough to avenge their fallen leader.

Dammit...why did I have to pick tactician!? What good am I to help!?

How can a single princess, a farm kid and a lying boy stand up to bunch of assholes!?

How can...

I shut my eyes before I bite down on my lip hard, enough to draw some blood and feel it trickle down my mouth. The sense of pain snaps me from those particular thoughts.

Dammit, calm down, calm down, being frustrated isn't going to help anyone. Just take a moment and actually think on this...

Okay think, bandits have taken the villagers and placed them in a dungeon as we've been lead to believe. Then let's assume that they are all in one place, while the bandits are scattered about. Both groups are humans, despite one being a bunch of assholes, and they all have basic needs.

Food, water...a warm bed with a roof over your...

This is an old fort, right? Then this thing is divided into sections, a place to store weapons and food, a place to rest.

What if we cause more than one form of distraction? Divided their attention so much, then somehow while their distracted with one or two distractions one of us goes and frees the villagers and sneaks them out someway. That or guard them until the whole thing dies down...

But there are some problems with this...if one of us does sneak the chance to be spotted and sound some alarm can happen. Plus if we set a distraction first before we get in, then they'll be on high alert. Or at least be on some kind of caution...

I might be over thinking on this...but there may be a way to do this.

...This is really risky but it can help if...if I can just...

Slowly I opened my eyes to see that both Lucina and Donnel were staring at me. They seemed confused and sightly concerned...

Okay here goes...

"Marth..." I slowly start, gently wiping off the blood on my lip. "I have an idea..."

"...What is it?" She asks in a neutral tone.

"We're kinda stuck in the fact we have to infiltrate a place filled with bandits," I gesture to said place. "We're out numbered and we can't just do a head on assault. That'll not only put our lives at risk but the lives of the villagers as well. So...we sabotage."

"...Explain." She says sounding at bit curious to what I was planning.

"If we are able to sneak in, then split up or together we can find the villagers first or sabotage the resources the bandits have," I slowly say. "But of course by sabotage, I mean a way to distract the bandits...to either eliminate them or sneak the villagers away without being seen."

Pretty much what I was thinking before but...there's no other thing I can think of...some tactician I am.

"Normally there's a choice to these scenarios..." I crossed my arms. "You either choose to evacuate the villagers, or take out the bandits...so why not both?"

"What do you mean by both?" She asks as she tilted her head.

"One set takes care of the bandits, while other gets the villagers out." I say. "Basically Marth, you and I will have to provide Donnel enough time to get his people out. By engaging the bandits indirectly...and in other form of tactics..."

They're bound to have alcohol in barrels or at least in bottles in there somewhere. Likely in the village as well...I just need to find some cloth or a lantern...the former should work better. If not...we're going to have to wing it...wonder if they have a bucket of crap lying around...or a jar of bees...that'd work better.

"Still..." I slowly say as I shook my head. "It'd be best if wait till night, it would be easier for us to enter while some of them are sleeping. But that's up to you Marth..."

This is risky no matter how I put it, we make a mistake in there then it could cost us badly.

"...We should move in soon, it'll be dark and that should provide us some cover." Lucina says as her hand gripped the Falchion. "We'll do the plan you've suggested."

"Alright then, Donnel you ready for this, we won't force you if don't want to."

Last chance to back out...not him but for me...once we step in there...I can't think about it, I have to bare with it and bury it deep. Other wise I won't be of much help to anyone...I just hope I don't turn into a monster.

"I...I'll do it." The villager says as adjusted his pot and gripped his weapon.

Don't worry kid...if you're anything like how you were in the game then you'll easily become one of the strongest around. Probably stronger than me by default...

"Alright then, we wait once the sun goes down then we go in."

* * *

"Sun's finally set," Edward stated as they arrive near the fort.

"Then we're on the clock," Jon states as he slid off Emi. "We have a small window of time to deal with this."

'Right, plus we don't know what Lucina is doing with those two right now,' The Witcher thought as he slid off as well. 'If she's anything like her father, than she's likely already inside.'

"So what now?" He asked his fellow outrealmer. "The previous plan not's gonna work, and it's likely the princess is already inside."

"If they're inside then we have to support them," Jon said as stared at Emi's saddlebags. "You wouldn't happen to have bottle of vodka in there do you?"

"Frontal assault then?" He opened the saddlebags and reaches for the object in mind. "Hadn't done a siege in a while, and that's when I'm by myself."

"Think your barrier can hold off whatever they got?"

"Not as strong as Nai's but it'll do." He says as he pulls out a bottle of clear liquid. He uncorks it and stuffs a piece of cloth into it. "On foot, or horseback?"

"On foot, easier for us to maneuver in..."

"My thoughts exactly..." The Witcher said as toss the bottle to his friend. "Time to clean some pieces of filth..."

"That's rather cliche..."

"Shut up and let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Another chapter done with...**

**Apologies for the wait, but had important finals...now since that's done with. I have some free time, hopefully enough to post a chapter or two. At least that's what I'm hoping for...**

**As usual, read, review, or find a story that is much better than this one. Though at this point if your still reading this, then I must've done something right.**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Randomanimelover13: Edward...is definitely over eight teen, that much I can say at least...**

**It's really too earlier to say or hint of a possible pairing, though in the future such hints may be seen from time to time.**

**Edward is like that due to two things, experience and actual training. Won't elaborate on what kind of training or experiences just yet...**

**Sonicdude8: Yes, it really is deep in a philosophical sense...and in a literal sense.**

**Since every star holds multiple worlds, what kind of worlds and what story they may have we have yet to know. **


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem as it belongs to it's respected owners.**

**Fair warning for what's ahead: content that more or less makes this story rated M, such as blood, gore-ish things, and fire...lot's of fire.**

**Reader discretion is advised...**

* * *

Okay...how the hell did she even manage to see this hole? Seriously, the bushes in front of it obscure it to the point where you have to get _really_ close to see it.

Again, does she have eagle vision under that damn mask?

I shook my head as I carefully crawl through the hole, it was wide enough for someone to go through. And long enough to likely get through the thick looking wall. But it's ground level and you have to be carefully or you'll hit the sides. It doesn't help when you have a sword is strapped to your side...at least I left the knapsack back outside.

The sun had finally set a short time ago, it's interesting how quickly everything can turn dark. Though the moon was out and did give out light...as much light as it can give out anyway. Still, we quickly made our way to the spot where the way in Lucina had seen. Then took turns entering...

Of course as you might expect the princess had volunteered first, then now it's my turn, Donnel's right behind me.

Finally after awkwardly crawling through the hole, I slide out and move to the side. Taking in the new surroundings...

Nothing but barrels, dark looking walls, spots torches are supposed to be placed but there aren't any, a silhouette of a certain princess, and I think those are spider webs. Plus I think I hear a couple of rats in the corner somewhere...

"Where are we?" I whispered to the princess as I watched Donnel come out of the hole. He awkwardly adjusted his helmet pot as he used the pitchfork to help himself up.

"...It seems to be an unused store room." Lucina answers as she looks at a barrel before glancing around. "There should be a door around here..."

"If there's a keyhole, you might want to look through that first..." I muttered as I stood up. "Rather not open a door with a bunch of bandits on the other side."

She simply nods as she motions us to follow.

Carefully we walk through the room, our feet making some noise as we step on the stone floor.

Anticlimactically, we find the door which actually had a keyhole, the princess looks through it before slowly opening the door. She takes a peak before opening it further, letting the light behind it seep through.

She motions us to follow her deeper into the structure.

The villagers have to be somewhere...but where should we start looking?

* * *

"Two archers, three guys, two with axes and one with a lance...typical guard." Edward says as he crossed his arms.

"What about the sides?" His friend asks, he was leaning against a tree with his eyes on the fort.

"A few patrol the sides but they don't seem to do it fully."

"How many?"

"Around five last time I was here, don't know if they changed shifts..."

"...Alright, our main goal is to draw as much attention as possible..."

"Which means that I shouldn't hold back, right?"

"...At least a little bit, wouldn't want you to accidentally set the entire fort on fire."

"Unlike Nai, I'm not prone to get excited when using magic for combat. Thank god she isn't here...wouldn't want to repeat history."

"At least Suki hasn't had anymore nightmares and hasn't shown any fear to Nai..."

"Yeah...tough kid," The Witcher muttered before taking out the bottle of alcohol. "Alright let's say we have less than half an hour...think that's enough time?"

"...If it isn't then I'll coordinate with the Shepherds, while you get the princess and the tactician out. Sneak out while everyone is distracted if you must."

"...Really a tactician? What was that kid thinking..." He mutters. "Still Jon, you really don't want them encountering your people again?"

"They aren't supposed to be here..." The swordsman gritted his teeth then shook his head. "Plus Donnel is supposed to have met Chrom by now, now his membership is at risk."

"Kid still has a chance to prove himself..." The monster slayer strapped the bottle to his side. "Still we should get going..."

'Not about to mention the fact that I had some thoughts of taking Donny under my wing.' He thought as he checked the chain that was tied to his arm. 'He'd make a decent witcher...'

'Kid really seems to have potential, those eyes of his really did shine...maybe I'll offer him when this is over. Cause somehow I doubt I'll join the shepherds after this...maybe this is why Nai send me here early...' He smirked at the thought. 'Why she had that princess meet me...'

It kinda reminded him of the time he first met that bastard. Granted that person did lead him to his current profession...he's still gonna punch the shit out of that bastard when he eventually meets said person again.

"Right, don't how many there are," Jon slowly says as he drew his sword. "But it should help the ones inside if we thin out the numbers out here."

"Stay behind me," Edward instructed as his held out his arms. Both hands ignited into flames and sparked at a rabid pace.

* * *

"There's nothing behind this door..." I whispered as I quietly closed the door. "What about you guys?"

"...This leads to the outside," Lucina answers as she moves away from her door.

"I don't see anyone," Donnel said as he looked through the keyhole of another door.

Something is really off about this...we haven't heard anyone or seen any bandits walk around. It is night...are they sleeping or something? If that's true then we really have to be quiet...

We haven't really gotten far in, since we've been moving at a near snail pace. Lucina is the one leading us and makes stop at a corner before she takes a glance to see if anyone is there. Which is really the right thing to do...but trying to find the villagers is rather difficult.

Not like we had a marker that showed where they are...sure Donnel said they might be in the dungeon. But we don't know where that is exactly...and Donnel doesn't seem to know where he's going either.

Though one thing is bothering me a little bit...

We've been past a few doors, and for some reason Lucina kinda ignores them. I mean she just moves past them without a second glance, sure she may be leaving the looking to us. Which we actually do, even though the rooms are empty-ish...there were a couple of rooms that had lit candles. Didn't open them cause there might've been a bandit or two in there.

Still, she only actually checked a couple of doors...but even that looked like a glance. Like she was making it look like she is looking...but something feels off.

Maybe I'm overthinking it...she does have to keep an eye out for bandits. She's the only one who actually knows how to fight. Sure she taught me a few things and Donnel probably knows a few things...but that's really stretching it.

"We should move in deeper," Lucina's voice snapped me from my thoughts. "If there is a dungeon, then it may be underground. There should be stairs or some pathway to it."

Donnel and I nodded then followed after her.

"FIRE! Fire at the front gate! Get the buckets!"

We hear this loud voice echo through the halls. It made us stop in our tracks...

Slowly we start to hear more shouting, different voices saying different things. Most were incomprehensible, but they were panicking...why?

"They sounded the alarm on...a fire?" I muttered as I watched Lucina draw the Falchion. "It wasn't us...so who or what...crap it might be Edward. Or someone else..."

Have the shepherds finally decided to show up?

"Likely it is him," The princess says as she lowers her blade. "He's possibly drawing the attention of the enemy."

Well she's certainly sure it's him. "Whether or not it is him, we shouldn't waste this chance. They're bound to go outside..."

She nods, "Draw your weapon, if we're spotted then we're going to have to fight our way through."

I gulped as I slowly take my sword from it's sheath. It felt heavier than it should be, and my hands were slowly shaking.

Dammit, I really am scared aren't I...no don't think about that just help...just help her.

I let out a breath as firmly grip the blade.

"Let's go," With those words we move through the halls and deeper into the fort.

With the screams and shouts of the bandits in the background.

* * *

"Well that was effective..." Jon could only say as his friend launched another fire ball at the gate.

The damage wasn't that extensive, but it did set fire to the front gate and on some of bandits that were guarding it. Those ones were currently trying to dose the flames off of them by rolling on the ground. Needless to say that they are confused and trying to figure out what is happening. Though it wouldn't be long for them to figure out their being attacked...

"That should get some of them out." His friend said as he extinguished the fire from his hand then drew his sword. "You ready?"

"Just try not to over do it..." The swordsman nodded as he gripped his weapon.

Edward motioned him to follow, quickly the two sprint to the burning front gate.

The guards that were on fire, managed to extinguish said flames only to see the ends of their swords. The swordsman didn't wasted any time as he stabbed and twisted then moved on to the next.

As they finished the monster slayer flicked the blood from his blade, before raising his hand to the burning gate.

While it still being closed and now burning would normally make it an obstacle, but since his friend was here...

Green air swirled around his arm for a few seconds before he casts a powerful force of wind strong enough to break open the gate. Leaving a wide enough gap for them to enter...and see a small number of bandits on the other side.

"Shite! We're under attack!" One said as he dropped his bucket and grabbed his axe. Others followed by grabbing their weapons.

Jon moved behind Edward as he noticed that his friend's hands ignited with flames. The bandits didn't seem to notice...

"All together lads!" The with the axe yells as he charged. "Get-"

Fire shot out of the monster slayer's hand, completely bathing the bandit in bright flames. The bandit screamed as his comrades looked at the whole thing in shock.

"He's casting without a tome!" One yelled before stepping back then running. "We need the others! Hold'em-"

The bandit fell to the ground as another fireball hit his back, covering him in flames. Jon didn't need to look as he knew his friend had shot him.

"Now then...since I have your full attention." His friend finally speaks as flames danced on his hands. "Mind telling me where your boss is?"

The bandits looked at the monster slayer, then charge at him.

'Why do bandits always charge...' Jon mentally sighed as he brought his blade forward. Ready to get this over with...

* * *

Okay now there's the screaming and now the smell of something burning...a really strong smell too...

Something is really happening outside...is Edward attacking them with a flame thrower? Where would he even get one anyway...

I shook my head as we slowly moved down the stairs. Lucina was right on there being some stairs, we found them shortly after we started hearing the screams. Seems like if there was any bandits inside, they're not in here now. Guess we can thank Edward for that...any we saw and heard headed straight for the outside. Didn't even seem to notice us...

We reach the end of the stairs which lead to a door. The princess immediately moved and opened it...revealing an unprepared for sight.

There were the villagers, caged or chained to a wall. All looking at us in fear...

I froze at the sight...before gritting my teeth and gripping tightly on my blade.

They...they just chained them and locked them up like animals. The...the smell...they didn't even let them out for that. Sick...just plain sick...I think some of them are injured...there's children as well...what kind of bastards would do this to people. Doesn't help that there's a table with various 'tools'...don't need anything more on that.

"D-Donnel!" A weak voice was heard from one of the cages. "Is that-"

"Ma!" Donnel yelled as he made his way to the cage. "I'm here, I've brought help!"

Choosing to ignore the family reunion I gently poked the princess's shoulder.

"You might want to start freeing them..." I say to her before looking back where we came from. "We might not have much time."

The princess nodded as sh glanced at the villagers. Some of them seemed relived while others are still showing fear.

"I didn't see a key on this table, a bandit might have it but you should just cut the chains and locks. As we need to make this quick...plus your sword is really sharp." I suggested as I walked to the table before looking at the princess. "I'll keep watch..."

Lucina nodded as moved to the nearest villager to help. Donnel had moved from his mother and seemed to be giving a little of the concoction Edward had given us to an injured villager then passed it to another.

I glanced at our exit/entrance before looking back at the table. There really isn't a key, and since we shouldn't waste time trying to find it.

**_Shink!_**

I didn't need to look to know that Lucina had cut some villager out of some chains or cage.

Good thing the Falchion is sharp as hell, if her father is strong enough to make a hole into a wall. Then his daughter who posses a 'fraction' of his strength should be able to cut through chains or a cage. Plus having a holy sword that might be eternally sharp definitely helps...

I glance back at our exit, still nothing, then glance at the two.

Okay...the number of villagers is under fifteen...comprised of adults and children of various ages. Might be able to get most of them to the hole and out of here, but this is a rather large group. Plus it'd take one bandit to sound the alarm if we're spotted...we can't separate them and take them a small number at a time.

The princess and likely Donnel wouldn't want that, plus a bandit or two could come back and deal with whoever stayed behind.

Dammit, escort missions are a pain...we're likely going to have to go with the first option. With Luicina leading from the front while me and Donnel go in the back...but even with that...there are still a lot of risks. Plus we don't know what Edward is doing outside...he may be fine or in need of help.

Damn...

Once more I glance back at the exit, still nothing, then back to the princess.

She directs a couple of the villagers to move before slicing off the lock of a cage. Freeing the last of the villagers...

"That everyone?" I asked as I note that Donnel and his mother were hugging. "Alright have few suggestions...though they may not be good."

"What do you have in mind?" Lucina asked as she walked up to me.

"Basically taking all of them through the way we came and hope we don't encounter anyone hostile," I shrugged as I sheathed my sword and crossed my arms. "That or take them a handful at a time, but that just as risky...plus I doubt you'd approve of it."

She tilted her head but didn't say anything.

I shook my head, "Realistically, we're bound to encounter someone and would be forced to fight. So we would have someone guarding from the front and back. The halls are a bit narrow, I don't know about you but I don't know how to fight in confined spaces, Donnel probably doesn't either. Other than those two options, I can't think of anything that can help us get these people out."

"Are you certain those are the options you can think of?" She asks as she glances back at the villagers. They were currently taking a breather and trying to help each other up.

"...Well, those are the options if we're trying to get them out." I slowly say as another idea came to mind. "At least as of right now..."

Of course there is that third option...can't believe I'm even suggesting this...

"Marth," I uncrossed my arms and unsheathed my sword. "...There is another option but it's just as...if not riskier than the other ones."

Really don't want to do this but we may have no other choice...dammit...I had some vain hope it wouldn't come to this.

"...What is it?" She asks after a few seconds.

"We leave the villagers here, have them barricade the door with something study and arm themselves if possible. While the three of us go...and take care of the rest of bandits with Edward if he is around." I say before sighing. "If all or most of the bandits are taken care off, by either forcing them to flee or other means. Then we won't have to worry about the villagers safety. But as such with the other plans this one is really risky, bandits who are inside could find the villagers and attack them while we're outside..."

I shook my head, "I really can't think of anymore options...at least ones with a higher chance of success...so the path we take is up to you. I will assist in what ever you choose..."

But knowing her...she's likely bound to take the first or third option...really have to be ready. Don't know what's happening outside but we're likely going to find out sooner or later.

Damn it all...I really had to play tactician...couldn't have pick something simple...

Lucina lowered her head then stared at the villagers and finally looks right at me.

"...Our priority is to get the villagers to safety," She slowly says, making her words clear. "That is what we will do, we'll escort them out of this place."

"Alright, then..." I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding, before looking at the villagers. "Everyone, we're going to escort all of you out of this place. Please follow my masked friend to safety..."

Ignoring what their reactions could have been, I look back at the princess, "One of us will have to lead from the front, while two of others would guard from the back. And as I just said it has to be you leading while Donnel and I watch our backs...we won't let you down."

Lucina nodded then moves to look out the door before motioning the villagers to come close to her.

I should probably tell the kid what his role is and get out of here.

I move to where Donnel and his mother was, he seemed to have finished helping the other villagers. He was staring at me when I stopped in front of them.

"You two ready to go?" I asked as I glanced at Donnel's mother, then back at him.

"Yea..." Donnel answered as he adjusted his pot helmet.

"Good, Donnel...I need to your help with something." I slowly say. "I need you to help me guard everyone from the back as we get them out. In case anyone comes after us, we'll need to defend these people."

He looks at me then glances at his mother, then nodded at me. Odd how his mother is kinda quiet about this...meh, forget it.

"Alright, we'll watch each other backs," I nodded as I motioned them to follow me.

"Right, I...won't let you down." Donnel says as held up his pitchfork.

Well, since it is Donnel...yeah he won't...I can trust him on that.

"Let's go," I smirked as we follow after the princess who was patiently waited for us.

* * *

Jon side stepped before slashing the back of the knees of one bandit before stabbing another in the neck. Then stabbing the bandit he had slashed, it wasn't really difficult.

"That makes four," He says as he removed his sword from the bandit's back. "So that makes it around eleven that are finished."

Edward casted a force of wind, staggering a bandit before cutting a leg off then stabbed the bandit in the chest.

"Twelve now, guess this Roddick was good enough to gain a sizable force." The monster slayer said as he flicked the blood off his sword. "Saw some of the others run back inside, either to get back up in men and their boss or are just plain scared."

"Likely both..." The swordsman said as he moved next to his friend. "Aren't most bandit groups based on some sort of hierarchy? At least from what you've seen..."

"Bandits groups are often ruled by either fear or the strongest or intelligent or more 'charismatic'." His friend lists off casually before looking in some direction of the night sky. "But these guys got nothing compared to the ones up north...or the ones to the west. Most of their leaders are either ruthless or clever enough to lead. Especially in that damn desert... "

"That's right you did wake up in Plegia...of all places." Jon muttered before choosing to change the topic. "We should keep moving, not sure thinning the numbers is helping."

"Plus if you haven't noticed," His friend points to a random direction in the sky. "We're running out of time."

"What do..." The swordsman cut himself when he noticed a familiar pair of wings shining in the moonlight in the distance. "...Dammit, they moved faster then I thought they would."

"What did you expect?" Edward smirked as he lowered his hand. "One of their own has technically gone on his own into hostile territory. With not only his life but the lives of others at stake. A bit reckless..."

The monster slayer's hand suddenly ignited then raised it and casted a bright fire ball into the air. It sailed up high for some distance before it exploded in a firework like manner.

"There, now they won't waste time in the village." His friend casually shrugged as the flames in his hand extinguished.

Jon narrowed his eyes, "Did you really have to do that?"

"Too late to say anything now," Edward turned his head then reverse gripped his blade. "They've brought back up...might wanna get behind me."

Jon turned then cursed under his breath as he gripped his blade.

In front of them were around ten or so bandits, each armed with a variety of weapons, both short and long range.

The one in front of of the group of bandits was a man holding a rather large axe. By guess and assumption, the swordsman believed that this one was the leader...Roddick.

"So you're the bastards who's killing my men." The bandit leader gritted his teeth as he took a step forward. "Who the hell are you?"

The swordsman narrowed his eyes as he scanned the enemies in front of him. Some of them seemed to be afraid or confused on what is going on, other have rage written on their faces obviously want pay back for their fallen comrades. Still, it poses a problem, they are out numbered and the bandits are more or less rallied under their leader. Plus they have archers but thankfully there were no mages...that would have complicated things.

He hears his friend sigh as he steps forward and moved right in front of him. Gaining the attention of the archers in the group, their bows were focused on him.

"Middle age male, war paint on face and stomach, scar across left eye..." He lists off causally as he stared at the bandit leader. "So you're Roddick? Huh, I expected someone with a more...obvious smell...you don't smell as shitty as the rest of your boys. Guess you have access to soap, perks of a bandit leader."

"I asked you a question..." Roddick growled as he took another step. "Who. Are. You?"

"Doesn't matter," The monster slayer said as he tilted his head. "All you need to know is that I'm on a contract, which happens to involve your head."

"Oh? So someone finally noticed me? What's the amount?"

'Edward's obviously stalling,' Jon thought as glanced at each of the bandits, ready to move if needed. 'Buying us a little more time, though that means Chrom would also be here soon. Which ever happens first...we have to finish this.'

"Around...Four silver coins worth..." Edward shrugged raising his head a little. "You really aren't well known but work is work...you're nothing like those damn twins up north. Worth a combined total of five hundred gold coins...then again their bounty is in Regna Ferox and they have a lot more gold."

"But I digress," The monster slayer lowered his head as one arm went behind his back. "There was a village near this place, it's completely empty now...you wouldn't happen to know what happened to it would you?"

"So what if I do?"

Jon noticed something, he was confused for a second by it before realizing what was being asked.

Edward tilts his head as he grips his blade. "Well, since there's was lack of corpses...they're obviously taken...or just decided to leave their homes. Still I did find a trail, which happened to lead me to one of your own...he was quite the talker."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Roddick growled as his axe rested on his shoulder.

"He told me a lot of things, especially about you..." The young man slowly says. "About how some poor 'bastard's father' that broke a few ribs of yours. Rather surprising considering your a bandit leader, no?"

Said bandit gritted his teeth, "You-"

"Though to be fair you did kill him," He casually said. "Ensuring your reputation and place among your boys, but of course you made a mistake."

"One simple little mistake," He slowly says as his sword subtly moved a little, there was a slight trace of green on it. "And as cliche as you might expect, you didn't notice until till the last second. Say, where are the villagers now? And the kid you were chasing for that matter? In a way, he did start all of this...as he did hire me."

"What are you-" The bandit leader widened his eyes as he seemed to finally figure out was going on.

'Here it comes,' Jon thought as he got ready.

"That fucking bastard!" Roddick yelled as he turn and stormed back into the fort. "Kill them!"

As soon as that was yelled, Edward stabbed his sword into the ground, casting a barrier of wind from his sword. Blocking and glancing the incoming arrows or spears, he then lowers the barrier for a second.

This allowed Jon to throw the unlit molotov cocktail at the bandits in front of them. The bottle lands at the base of their feet, smashing then releasing the liquid inside. Causing the bandits to be confused before they noticed what was in front of them.

The monster slayer casted a wide stream of flames, bathing each of the bandits in fire. The fires in his hands extinguished as they were replaced visible green wind, all before he casted several large blades of wind, cutting most of the bandits while leaving some heavily injured and still burning.

As the surviving bandits screamed, his friend fell to his knees and panted heavily.

"You alright Edward?" Jon asked as he stood next his friend taking out a vulnerary.

"No where near mana exhaustion," His friend stood up then shook his head. "But I put too much into those wind blades, won't be able to use magic for awhile. At least if I don't need to..."

The swordsman nodded before putting away the potion. "You did the last part on purpose didn't you..."

"Might've gone a bit far on it..." The monster slayer sheaths his sword. "What's done is done...at least most of the bandits are down...should be easy enough for them."

"Their leader got away...and is back inside."

"And he won't be much of a problem in his agitated state, not if their smart about it. Besides..." Edward crossed his arms. "If he really is that much of a problem, you would've ran after him by now, no?"

Jon blinked before sighing as he shook his head.

His friend was right, had he seen the leader as a highly dangerous threat, he would have been after him. Then kill him before he could possibly harm others, and yet he chose this course of action.

"...I also decided to gamble a little..." His friend smirked as he uncrossed his arms. "If I am right, then Donny would be able to lay any thoughts he has about his father to rest. As well as another thing..."

"So you decided to risk their safety and possibly the villagers safety. All for Donnel to have a chance for revenge? What's the second thing..."

"Not for revenge, more like a form of closure. Second, concerns the new blood we have," Edward rubbed the back of his neck before looking at something behind them. "But we don't have time for that, your prince is here."

Jon widened his eyes as turned to see that Chrom was pass through the ruined gates. He was flanked by Robin and Frederick with the others in tow, they were on their guard for enemies.

'Dammit, had hoped to finish this before they arrived,' The swordsman sighed as he sheathed his sword. 'This is going to be a pain...'

"Blue hair, blue armor like clothing, brand of the exalt on shoulder..." Edward tilted his head as he smirk grew. "You're the ragtag prince helping the common folk...huh thought you'd be more...never mind that. I'm Edward, Jon's friend as he probably mentioned to all of you."

'A pain I'm never going to let it down...' Jon thought as he let out a sigh of defeat. 'This really is a long day...'

"Well, as nice as it was to see you again Jon." The monster slayer patted him on the shoulder. "But I have a contract to finish..."

"...And as much as I want to join that ragtag group of his..." He leans in and whispers. "I'm afraid a certain C_rimson Bitch_ and princess have likely changed my mind. Also may just take Donny under my wing if he wants...see you soon Jon say hello to Suki and Midori for me as you'll try recruiting them next."

Without even waiting for response, Edward moves past him and where the bandit leader had gone in.

After a few seconds, the swordsman sighed as he sheathed his sword and turn to see Chrom and Robin walking up to them. Frederick wasn't far behind, he was keeping his head on a swivel, obviously not wanting to be suddenly ambushed.

"So...that was your friend..." Robin slowly says as she looks at the dead bandits.

"The two of you did all of this?" Chrom asked as his face was neutral but he seemed a bit shocked.

"No sir, it also wasn't Marth nor the person traveling with him as I haven't see them," Jon shook his head then gestured to what was behind him. "This was mostly Edward's doing."

He couldn't help but mentally smirk at the looks the three of them had displayed, Chrom had the initial shock and confusion. Robin had a mixture of shock, horror, and somewhere along the line of interest. Frederick merely rose an eyebrow before quickly returning to his stoic expression. No doubt thinking his friend as a possible danger...

"Sir, I can't say that all of the bandits have been eliminated." The swordsman placed his hands behind his back in a semi formal posture. "The exact location of the villagers is still unknown, if they are truly within a dungeon then it will be deep inside the fort."

"...If there are any bandits left at all..." Robin muttered before shaking her head. "Then it'd be wise to search the area with caution."

"Understood," Was all the swordsman could say. He knew he was going to be in for it when it was over...

* * *

You know that feeling you get when...yeah I have no idea how to accurately describe this feeling...

The most simple way I can put it is...holy shit...we are so fucking dead!

The bandit leader Roddick, in his spitting image from the game, is standing right in front of us with a huge axe! And it doesn't even begin to describe the feeling that coming off of him.

I think I mentioned feeling the sense of killing intent off of Lucina when she was hunting that damn bear. But this guy is a hundred times worse, as it is directed at us.

Dammit, I had hoped in vain that we'd get the villagers out without encountering anybody. But even then that was likely as Lucina...dammit this isn't the time for analogies!

We have a likely two hundred pound rage filled man with a large axe I rather not be hit with.

Fortunately, we managed to get every villager out and were about to leave through the hole we came through. But since this guy has shown up that threw our plans off...other problem is that Lucina is on the other side. And as much as I doubt that she has the vision of an eagle, to somehow see a hole that is well hidden, I seriously doubt she has super human hearing.

There's no way we can handle this guy head on...not without seriously injury or death.

I gripped the handle of my sword tightly as I glanced at Donnel. The kid's eyes were widened with fear, his hands were shaking a little as his grip on the pitchfork visibly tighter than it should be. His knuckles were turning white...damn he's scared as I am.

"You..." Roddick says in a low yet deep voice. "I should've killed you along with that bastard father of yours...this all because of you."

I narrowed my eyes as I glanced between Donnel and him. Have no idea what the hell he's talking about...

Still, as said before, we can't this guy ourselves not without seriously getting hurt or worse. Our only chance is Lucina, but she's on the other side of the damn wall. By the time she decides to come and see what is taking so long we're dead.

Our only chance is to somehow get to her or bring her to us, but this guy with that damn axe won't give us that chance. If we run, we'd be struck from behind, if we hold our ground we're dead as well.

If the two of us do either of those things...we're dead end of this damn story. Unless...if not both the two of us...just one. Just one of us goes alone to try to get Lucina back in here, but that is risky...since the one that stays might end up dead...

Without even thinking about it clearly, I reverse grip my sword and stepped in front of Donnel.

"Donny..." I slowly whisper, just low enough for him to hear me. "Run to Marth...now."

Dammit all to fucking hell, I really do have a death wish...this is gonna hurt like hell...then not at all.

I sprint towards Roddick, who seemed a bit surprised for a second then grinned as he lifted his axe.

Okay...now!

I stopped in my tracks, narrowly avoiding the incoming axe that was being brought down. Before trying to slash at his arms, only to stopped when he somehow grabbed the blade. Stopping me in mid-motion...

Before I could even react he pulls me forward then punches me hard. Knocking me down to the ground, then raises the axe once more.

I cursed as rolled to the side narrowly missing the incoming strike, but he follows it up by stomping me in the chest. I try to raise my sword to stab him but he uses his other foot to stomp hand into the ground.

My screams echo the walls as he crushed my hand between the handle of the blade and his foot.

Roddick chuckled as he stomped my chest again, then continued to crush my hand. I tried to punch at his legs with my free hand but it was having no effect, he just laughed then stomp my chest again.

He raises his axe and was about to bring it down when something stabs his arm. That being a pitchfork...

As the leader screamed he steps off of me, leaving me the chance to kick him in the gut and crawl back up a bit. As I did that I felt two arms grab me and help pull me away from the screaming bandit. Then stopping some distance away from his axe's range...

I glance to see that my savior was Donnel, before looking back at the screaming now bleeding bandit.

The pitchfork managed to stab right through his arm, making it drip blood at a certain rate. Roddick dropped his axe then grabbed the pitchfork but grunted in pain. He then picks up the axe and hacks at the wooden part of the pitchfork.

"Drink this!" Donnel hands me a familiar looking bottle, it was the concoction Edward had given us.

I grabbed it then forced the contents down my throat, before gasping for air. The pain in my chest and hand began to subside, it was still present put it wasn't as bad as before. After checking to see if I can still use my fingers which was a thankful yes. I used my sword as support and with some help from Donnel, I slowly forced myself to stand up.

In the time it took to do that, Roddick managed to break the wooden pole of the pitchfork. As it fell to the ground, his arm unceremoniously drops and appears to have gone limp.

He grunts as he tries to move it but it just aimlessly swings.

He's lost the ability to use one of his arms! Donny obviously tore a nerve and some important veins. But he's still standing, so he's not going to bleed out fast enough. But his defense and offensive capabilities are cut down, we might actually stand a chance now...

An actual chance to survive this...better not waste it. Have to aim for the areas he's weakest in...basically strike his limp arm, then go for somewhere vital if possible. And with Donnel here...his attention can be divided, leaving him defenseless for an attack or enough to whittle him down then finish him!

The bandit leader gritted his teeth before looking at us in rage. He's somehow more angrier than before...he better not start turning green.

"You...bastards!" He yells as he grabs his axe and lifts it.

"Donny," I whispered to the pot wearing kid as I gripped my blade. "Thanks for the save, now get ready...here he comes. Avoid any strike you can and aim for anything vital or cripple him..."

The villager gulped but he nodded as he unsheathed the sickle from his back, he was holding it in a reverse grip like stance.

"Ready...go!"

Together the two of us charged, I come close to him first and blocked a strike from his axe. It pushed me back a little but didn't knock me down.

Donnel followed up by slashing at him, only to miss when he stepped back to narrow avoid the attack.

Roddick was about to slash with his axe again but I kicked him in the gut then slashed at his chest.

The blade sliced through his flesh as he moved back, when he stopped a long vertical line appeared on his chest. Slowly becoming crimson...

Donny didn't give him a chance to breath as he moves past me and slashes at his limp arm. The sickle makes contact with the metal embedded in the arm.

The bandit screamed as he tried to slash at him but was blocked by my sword keeping him from hurting the kid. I kicked him hard in the gut to prevent him from doing his own kick.

Donnel didn't waste a second as he slashed upwards at Roddick's chest. His strike went much deeper than mine, it left a deep red gash.

Screaming, Roddick jumped back and began swinging wildly at us. Donnel and I jumped back to avoid the incoming strikes...

Dammit, we're not doing enough damage, he's getting desperate to hit us. And one hit is all it would take to...we have to end this...

Side and direct attacks aren't doing it...so we have to go above and below. Hope he understands what I'll say...

"Donny, I go below and you go above!" I yelled as I gripped my blade. "We'll do it together!"

He looked at me fore second before nodding. "Right!"

I charge at Roddick, stopping and blocking one of the strikes. All before reeling one of my legs back and hitting Roddick right in the crotch.

"Ragh!" His face cringed up by the sudden hit, he staggers back leaving him open.

"Now!" As I yelled, Donnel moves past me and brings the sickle up.

He screams as he slashes at Roddick's throat, the blade makes contact with his throat. Cutting it and letting blood spill out...

Before he could even choke, I slam into him forcing my sword right through his chest. Causing the both of us to fall to the ground...

As I regain my composure and stare at Roddick...I watched his eyes become lifeless as he choked on his own blood. He twitches a little before slowly his whole body becomes stiff and limp...

...We...we just killed him...we just killed a human being...we've murd-

I bite my lip hard and dug my fingers into my arms hugging myself in pain. The feeling of a warm familiar liquid travel down my mouth.

NO! Don't think about it, don't think about, just bury it deep inside and never let it out! Cause you know you'll have to do more things like this...all for the sake of survival. All for the sake of helping Lucina, helping those in need, or just doing what needs to be done.

Accept this harsh reality of this damn world as you accepted the fact of being here in the first place! Or you'll be of no use to anyone!

So cast all those feeling aside and get up! Take the sword out of this asshole's corpse and get Donnel out of here! You don't know if any bandits will come around the corner and take revenge. So get up and go!

I gritted my teeth as I stood up then wiped my lip with my sleeve. Slowly I placed my foot on the dead body's chest before grabbing the hilt of my sword. I pull it out with little effort, my hand shook for few seconds before gripped the handle tightly.

I lowered my head as I turn to look at Donnel, he eyes were in shock as he looked at the sickle he was holding. His mouth moved a bit, but I couldn't hear what he said.

He is in as much shock as I am, I can't have him break down...I need to get him out of this damn place.

I rose my blade in the air, then swiped at nothing...most of the blood that was on the blade falls to the ground. Quietly I place it back into it's sheath and walk up to Donnel.

"Donny," I slowly say as I place my hand on his shoulder. "We need to go, right-"

The door that lead to the hole opened, it revealed to be Lucina. She opens it fully and walks up to us.

"...What..." She looks at the corpse of Roddick then at us. "What happened?"

"Doesn't matter," I quickly say as I pull Donnel by the arm. "We're done here...let's just...get out of here."

She looks at me for a second then nods as the three of us moved into the storage room and into the hole.

Leaving this damn place for good...

* * *

Edward turned the safety of crossbow on before putting it away along with his knife.

He steps out of the corner he was hiding from and walks up to the corpse of the former bandit leader.

He had the desire to kill the man himself, but he had set it aside to see if his gamble would pay off. It did along with some interesting observations...

Of course had it become completely serious, he would have interfered to prevent unneeded deaths. But as he had observed, the two had it more or less handled. It wasn't bad the way they dealt with the bandit leader, with their current skill set...most in their place would not have made it so easily.

Those two manage to quickly adapt, then effectively take down their enemy with what the skills they had on hand.

It made him wonder how they would've performed if they knew more skills. Skills used to take down an enemy as quickly as possible without wasting any unneeded movements. More or less what he had learned from a certain bastard...

The same bastard that found and saved him in Pleagia, the same bastard that taught him how to survive and lead him to what he is now...a Witcher.

He smirked as his hand traced over his wolven necklace. For a second he could have sworn that it hummed, but that was impossible. As it has no trace of magic or anything of supernatural nature...it is as it is...a simple silver necklace forged in the shape of a snarling wolf. Something he never had when he was back home...

The Witcher stood over the body, removes his hand from the necklace then ignited it into flames. In a controlled manner, he burns the body for a few minutes before willing the flames to extinguished.

He's been doing this little habit for sometime now, burning the bodies of fallen enemies to reduce the chances of disease to spread.

He had started this ever since he had visited a village that was in a middle of a plague. With a monster that was apparently causing it, to make a long story short he had slayed the monster. While unfortunately he was afflicted with the disease that was spreading about, he was rescued and saved by a mage that was there to stop the plague. Purely for the benefit of himself or for others was unknown but he had crafted a cure none the less...though that was another story to be told for another time.

More or less after that he sometimes started burning bodies of fallen bandits or certain monsters he had killed. Mostly just the ones that would be left to rot and increase chances of a disease to appear around. As animals would scavenge upon the bodies for an easy meal...at least certain types.

However ever since the appearance of the Risen, a certain rumor had began circulating villages. One that says that sometimes, the bodies of certain individuals come back as Risen and haunt the places they have died. Of course he has yet to confirm whether it was true or false as he once several bodies to rot for a day with no results. But he didn't want to risk the chance of 'fresh' Risen to be born into this world.

Dark magic can be interesting and more elusive to understand than what is considered to be 'traditional' form of magic.

Edward steps away from the now burnt body of the former bandit leader and walks to where he saw the princess and her companions go through. He sees nothing but storage room, but there was a hole just wide enough through for a person to crawl through.

He smirked as he understood that this was the way the princess used to get inside and free the captured villagers. He moves and starts to crawl through the hole.

He knows if he went through the way he came, he'll encounter a certain prince and his 'merry' band of misfits. But as he told Jon, he's not going to join them...all because of a certain _Crimson Bitch. _Been a while since he dared say that title, Nai can be a fierce one when angered.

Though he supposed that he should thank her next time they meet, because of her. He's has encountered something of interest, in the form of certain time traveling princess.

Regardless of what ever that princess says, he'll likely 'pledge' his services to her and follow them around.

His smirk grew as he crawled out of the hole and made his way back to the village.

Part of him of excited as he knew that traveling with Lucina would be...a rather unique experience.

* * *

The villagers seemed to be relieved that everything seems to be over. Some of them embraced each other then went to there homes, others started picking things up. Likely wanting to move on and continue with their lives as soon as possible. Some of the children had started playing together while being watched by an elder.

It...really looks peaceful...they're happy to be alive.

I sighed as I leaned against on one of the fences that was in the village.

It's been what felt like half an hour or so since we came back to the village. The villagers had insisted that we stay the night in thanks for rescuing them. And in the possible event of retaliation if the bandits come back, they would want us to defend them.

Lucina didn't answer but they took her silence as a yes for some reason then went about to do their own thing. She was currently speaking with the village elder, by speaking I mean that she is silent while the man is simply recalling the events of what had happened.

Partially wondering why the elder was silent when we were rescuing them. Though that isn't really important...

I only paid attention for a little bit but the story goes like this.

Six months ago, the group of bandits had moved into the fort, they were a really small number so the village didn't think of them as much danger. Only something to wary of when being near the area of the fort, but the bandits seemed to ignore them for some time. So life was more or less normal...

Then as time passed and the numbers of the bandits grew, enough to the point were they pressed the village for crops and coin. All for the sake of 'protection' from the dangerous things in the area. Other then those protection payment they didn't bother the villagers much and just kept to themselves.

Then a few weeks ago, the village started getting more pressured for food and strangely only that. The elder had suspected that since the appearance of the Risen, the bandits might have been afraid of them so they were likely stocking up for a possible siege by the undead.

But the village had a bad harvest and had so little to spare, the ended up angering the bandits. To the point were a group of them lead by Roddick came and demanded food for their men.

The elder wasn't specific about what happened, but one of them had stood up to Roddick then ended up striking him and broke a rib or two. In rage Roddick killed him on the spot...

I stopped listening after that, since it made me realize that I had forgotten a certain piece of information. Donnel's father stood up to Roddick for whatever reason and was killed for it. Then everyone was taken from him and he either avoided capture or escaped on his own. Then he met us and finally dealt with his father's killer...

I...don't know what to think on that...I probably shouldn't and forget this little detail. I'm not sure if it's right or wrong at all...

Dammit...

I sighed as I shook my head as I look at the night sky. The stars look rather nice today, they shine so brightly with the moon. Wonder if any of them hold the world I came from...so close yet so far away. Will I ever see it again...the lonely blue dot that is in the ever reaching void of darkness? A world filled so much...yet will always hold wonders no matter how much is discovered...

"...Leon."

The princess's voice snaps my thoughts and makes me turn to see her and surprisingly Edward walking up to me.

"Marth...are we leaving now?" I asked as I glanced at the so called 'Witcher'.

"Well a majority of the bandits are dead..." Said 'Witcher' says as he crosses his arms. "And any that are left are likely being finished off by the Shepherds."

"Wait, the Shepherds are here!?" A nervous feeling crawls up my spine. "W-when did they-"

"Some time after you two managed to enter the fort," He looks at the time child. "Nice work finding that tunnel, guess we were more or less helping each other when Jon and I had assaulted the place."

Wait he did he just say him and Jon, not him and the shepherds?

He shook his head, "Still, since that part of the job is done. You don't have a reason to stick around, though it would be wrong of you to leave without saying goodbye to Donnel at least."

He motions us to follow him, "Come on, might as well do it all together. Cause I do have to collect payment..."

"...You told the elder that you already accepted payment." Lucina says as she stares at him.

"I more or less told a half truth..." He shrugs before walking off into the village.

Possibly out of curiosity or suspicion, Lucina followed after him. Leaving me by myself for a second before deciding to follow as well.

A few minutes later we stop by a house and outside of it was Donnel and his mother.

"Good to see that your alright," Edward says as he greets them.

"Y-yea," Donnel said as he adjusted his pot helmet.

His mother smiles as she bows her head in thanks. "I thank you for saving us kind sir, and for saving my boy."

"Tis my profession to do so," He says as he crossed his arms. "Though your son more or less hired me to help all of you."

"...Then your expecting payment," Donnel's mother says after a second of silence. "We...we don't have much-"

"I do not want coin nor food," The 'Witcher' rose his hand, interrupting her. "I've come to offer something to your son, whatever his answer may be...it'll be payment enough."

She stares at him for a second before nodding.

"Donnel," Edward says, making his voice clear. "My offer is simply this, I want you to become my apprentice."

"W-what?" Donnel's eyes widened in shock.

"As I told you before, I'm a Witcher, a person who helps people more or less for a fee of service." He slowly says as his face remained serious. "What I didn't say was that Witcher's are more than simple mercenaries looking for profit. We are those that protect the innocent, guardians to people against horrors within dark times. We are forgotten legends, from a long ago age."

"But I intend to revive those forgotten tales, by finding those with potential to be more then what they are." He narrows his eyes. "Which brings me to you Donnel, as I've seen just that. If you accept my offer, I'll provide you the necessary teachings to learn skills and gain the strength needed to not only protect those you cherish but the lives of others. No matter who or what they are."

Donnel stared at him, then looks downward, as if he was unsure.

"I understand your hesitance, I'll give you some time to decide, as this isn't a simple choice." He bows his head before turning to leave.

"...Wait!" Donnel's sudden yell makes him stop and turn.

"I...I'll do it." The villager says as he stared at him with a determined look.

"Are you sure?" Edward asks, his eyes narrowed. "Once you accept, there will be no going back. While it means protecting those who are precious, you'll carry a heavy weight on your shoulders."

"Yea!" Donnel nods his head. "I want to be stronger...I-"

"Reasons are your own personal desires, expected as much." The 'Witcher' casually says as he visibly smirks. "Good enough then, say whatever goodbyes you need to and pack your essentials lightly. I'll be right outside the village waiting...as we'll be leaving soon."

With that he turns to leave and walks out of sight.

Lucina and I just witness again...something out of a freaking anime why we're quietly watching from the background without saying a single word. What the hell is with that!?

That's just weird...

"Ma..." Donnel slowly says as he looks at his mother. "I-"

His mother hugs him, then closes in and whispers something in his ear. His eyes widened before he hugs her back.

The tender moment lasted for a little bit, making me feeling rude for watching it for the first place.

Finally the two of them let go before goes back into the house.

"...Well that was unexpected..." I muttered as I look at the princess then rose an eyebrow.

Her hand was against her chest in the manner that makes it look like she's thinking about something. But I can see a visibly obvious smile from her lips.

What's she happy about? Did she expect this to happen or something? Then again...she is a time traveling princess...guess to her she might've been seeing history being written.

She seemed to notice me staring cause she glanced at me then put her hand down and stopped smiling.

Really? That was rather cliche...if Inigo exists and we find him, I'll employ him to help me get her to smile more.

...Cause she actually looks a bit cute when she does...

Donnel comes back out with the he had strapped to his back, and a knapsack a bit similar to mine. Except it was brown instead of gray...

"Guess we'll take you to Edward and say our goodbyes." I say as Lucina just go in the direction Edward went into.

A few minutes later we find Edward and his horse that for some reason had a red-eyed crow on it's head.

"All set?" He asks Donnel as he pats his horse's side, which just let out a puff of air.

"Yea." Donnel nodded his head as he adjusted his pot helmet.

"Alright then, place your knapsack in Emi's saddle bags while I talk to our masked friend here." He instructs as he walks up to Lucina.

"Thank you for the help you provided," He says as he holds out his hand to her. "It would've been a lot more difficult if I was alone."

She stares at him for a second before nodding then taking his hand and shook it.

"Now then, I do have an offer for you." He says as they let go of each other. "If you want to hear it."

"...What is it?"

"As a Witcher, my profession has it so I'm constantly on the move in the chase of work." He says as he crossed his arms. "I thought by some chance, we should travel together. At least for a little while..."

Lucina tilts her head, "...Why make this offer? Surely you have...more important matters-"

"While I do have to train Donnel," He interrupts her. "How I train him and with who or where is another story. One that will undoubtedly take time and resources to accomplish. But since I am on the job, I would have to not only hunt creatures that may kill simple men, but protect him and teach him while I am doing so."

"Which is why I ask to accompany you Marth, as I somehow believe this isn't the first time you saved a village from danger." He narrowed his eyes. "There's something about you I can't figure out, but that is of no matter. I just want me and my new apprentice to travel with you, as I suspect it will be an interesting experience."

"However let it be known, regardless of your answer..." He smiled. "I'm still likely to follow you anyway, the entire bit of me asking you was a formality."

"So, shall we get going?" He asks as he moves back to his horse. "If you want to travel to the nearest village, it's quite a ways from here. Oh and Donny, get on Emi's back, I rather have her start getting used to you. As you may need to ride her for something one day."

"Right." Was all Donnel could say as he carefully mounted on the horse. Said animal turned it's head and appeared to be staring at him before looking forward again.

"...This isn't supposed to happen..."

Huh?

I looked back at Lucina, her head was lowered and her hands were clenched.

"He's isn't supposed to do this..." I barely hear her whisper. "He should've met them by now and joined..."

What is she...this has something to do with her timeline doesn't it? So Edward was supposed to meet someone or ones? The only possible guess is the Shepherds and thankfully/weirdly haven't shown their faces. Weird since Edward said that they did show up...and he hasn't seem to join them for some reason.

I should probably help her out of that thoughts.

"Hey, Marth." I slowly say, getting her attention. "If you intend to leave, and since none of us appear tired. We might want to cover some distance before we need to sleep. So we should get going before fatigue fully sets in..."

At least it's not midnight yet, meh I can go for a few more hours. I remember only sleeping at two in the morning for an entire week, mostly cause I had homework and projects to catch up on. And to finish some animes I was binge watching before a new season started. Wasn't healthy but it was worth it...mostly...

The princess stared at me for second then nodded.

* * *

Jon sighed to himself as he watched Chrom talk to the village elder, who was recounting the tale of how they were saved by a masked man, his companion and a fellow villager. He wasn't listening to the converstation and had chosen to be some distance away. He was currently for them to be finished before they leave the area entirely.

They managed to sweep the fort for any remaining bandits, there weren't any at all so it was assumed that any that survived fled or he and Edward manage to kill them all. Apparently while that was being done, Edward had managed to rope Donnel into an apprenticeship and take him from the village. He also concluded that he's traveling with the princess...

Making Nai's plans a success...

"Chrom's still talking with the elder?" The voice of Robin makes him look to see her approaching him.

"Apparently the elder likes to tell stories..." He says as he crossed his arms. "Mostly just recounting on how they were saved."

"Yes, by Marth, Leon and one of their own..." The snow colored tactician narrowed her violet eyes. "This is becoming an odd pattern, we first encountered Marth when the Risen first appeared. Again at Regna Ferox, with her companion, once more with the Risen wolf. And now here, while we didn't encounter them specifically, they had influence to the events that transpired."

"Think their following us?" He asked, playing along to his role. "Or at least are somehow just happen to be they same place we are by chance? However unlikely that seems..."

"I would say yes to following...but," She shakes her head. "I cannot say to what possible end...are they following Chrom? Or following the Shepherds as a whole? What possible reason they have, if they were hostile then they would killed Chrom at Regna Ferox and escaped during the chaos. But they chose to help us when we were dealing Risen Wolf."

"And Leon would have an opportunity to kill Chrom when they were alone with him." Jon says as narrows his eyes. "I understand placing the scenario about them being spies or possible assassins. But their behavior does not present such possibilities."

"Exactly what I had concluded," She leans against her palm. "So the question turns to their identities, if there is a clue to who they are. We might find out their intentions, but so far we have nothing. Other than the strange fact that Marth had a near exact replica to Chrom's sword."

"There have been copies of the Falchion," He slowly says. "But none of them have been that accurate or can withstand that much punishment. They're purely made for those who want to collect the Falchion without trying to take the real one. Or make some nice decoration in someone's house..."

"Yes, but it sort of leads to another possible clue," Robin narrowed her eyes again. "Marth is the name of hero-king in the legends of Ylisse, correct?"

"Yes, there are so much myths and stories that surround it." Jon wondered where she was going with this, and hopes she doesn't come close to the truth.

"Well, for some reason I suspect a connection with her name and the copy of the Falchion." The tactician shook her head. "But I can't think of anything plausible or without proof which there is none. Maybe I'm overthinking things..."

"Whoever Marth and Leon may be..." The swordsman says as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What we know is that they are not hostile to us as of yet. And are possible to think of as potential allies."

"True," She sighs as she sits on the ground and looks at the sky. "That we count on for now."

Jon nodded then chose to become silent.

'After this, news of Maribelle being captured will eventually be heard.' He thought as closed his eyes. 'Then everything will be set in motion, hopefully we managed to prepare ourselves for what's to come.'

* * *

I yawned as I stared at the lively camp fire.

Tiredly I rubbed my eyes as I looked at the others pressed near the fire in awkward silence.

Edward was siting down and staring at the sky, while Donnel was on his side and looking like he was trying to sleep but was failing to. Lucina was being her usual self, being quiet and staring off into the distance or looking at the stars.

Kinda noticed that habit of her's, once and while when we're camped outside she looks up at the night sky. Either she really likes the stars or is some other thing...that I'm not caring about right now since I'm sleepy yet wide awake.

"Well this is rather dull..." I muttered as I hugged my knees.

Dammit, hate when I want to sleep but I can't because I'm somehow feeling active. Despite the fact I'm actually feeling tired! Which doesn't make any sense at all...ugh want to sleep and possibly have nightmares of a yandere chasing me with an chainsaw axe.

I'm so tired I'm not even thinking straight...

Then again it has been a long day...a lot crap has happened. Things I rather not think about...

"...Well then," Edward says as he leans forward a little. "Since everyone seems to have trouble sleeping. Why not do something to pass the time? A story perhaps..."

That perked up half the people sitting by the fire, which was Lucina and Donnel. Somehow I'm not surprised...

"How about a dull one so we can fall asleep out of boredom..." I suggested being uncharacteristically irritable. At least this might break the ice of the 'new' companions that are following us.

"That or some legends or stories I heard when traveling," Edward chuckled as he straighten himself back a bit. "But I have seen some interesting things, and wouldn't tell you all."

"If it helps us sleep then go for it," I muttered as I pressed my chin against my knees.

"Well," He starts off. "As a Witcher I tend to hunt monsters that cause trouble for humans. From the occasional boar or mountain wolf to the things that strange and difficult to deal with."

"However there is a time when I encountered something," He crossed his arms. "Something I never thought I'd see, a race of people that can transform into large forms of animals. Yet have the ability to reason, and have a high amount of intelligence..."

...Wait, he can't mean. I glanced at Lucina, who seemed focused on this as well.

"I met such a race once, they are called Taguel to be exact." He narrows his eyes. "They were once known a proud race, and I met what was likely the last one when I was hired by a noble to search for their missing daughter."

* * *

**A/N: That took awhile to finish, especially since I had to redue this a bunch of times to something that can work. Even if it still carries some problems...plus checking for spelling errors and missing words which is annoying when I sometimes glance over them and not notice until I reread for the tenth time. Even then there's probably words missing here and there...**

**But enough about that, the next chapter is something I wanted to try for awhile now.**

**In terms of simplicity, they're more or less filler chapters that give details to the characters. Mainly the OCs and their interactions with the rest of the cast and world they are set in. ****It'll also be used to fill in some things here and there that wouldn't be fully explained in the main story. **

**Either due to things the character wouldn't personally want to talk about, or things they have to 'censor' due to a certain thing. Mainly a blue haired princess...most of the time. **

**Examples include, like how two characters got together (Jason and Anna) or how they managed to gain the positions they are in now. Like how Jon joined the Shepherds or how Midori managed to get Basilio's interest the true version not the one they told Lucina about.**

**Not fully sure to make it a thing, so the next chapter would be to test the waters so to speak. I really wouldn't mind some feedback on that to see if it works or not. **

**With that little announcement out of the way, read, review or find a hopefully better story or make your own.**

**-Raiden312 **


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem as it belongs to it's respected owners.**

* * *

Edward sighed as he took a sip of his drink.

The tavern was rather lively, filled with town guardsmen on break, farmer's visiting from their villages. They weren't being loud but were more or less celebrating about something. He didn't care enough to know what it was about...

He sighs again as he puts down his drink.

His last job wasn't as well rewarded as he'd hoped it be.

An Anna lead caravan in Regna Ferox had been looking for some cheap escorts to take them through a dangerous mountain path. That lead straight into Ylisse, the path is usually filled with dangers of the more 'man-eating' sort. Apparently the path was infamous among the locals and villages near it tend to stay away from if possible. Unless they have business in either country...

Typical place full of danger and superstition...good opportunity for work.

He managed to be hired by the Anna leading the caravan, which was a group of fellow merchants transporting food to be sold in the current location he is now. At first the job was going smoothly...there weren't any dangers on the road. Then around half way through they encountered a mountain wolf.

Now, a _normal_ mountain wolf normally wouldn't be that much of a hassle. As they are typically encountered alone and if one knew what they were doing when fighting the creatures. The problem is, it was one of the more dangerous types of mountain wolves. The type known as an Alpha variant...

As the weirdly simplistic name goes, these type of mountain wolves are rare, typically intelligent, and are the leader of a pack. Not just any kind of normal pack, which is only a handful of their kind. But those packs often stay away from humans for whatever reason.

The Alpha variant commands a large pack of normal sized wolves, usually a dozen or so at once. Another strange thing in this world's ever growing list of mysteries and wonders. However while it's size can be intimidating, an Alpha variant just instructs the pack to attack a target. While the beast itself hides and watches from a distance.

Though when cornered or angered it can put up a tough fight on it's own. So it is better to either kill it as fast as possible or chase it away.

Similar to a Twin streak boar, if the leader of the pack dies, then the wolves will scatter and run off elsewhere.

The caravan was attacked by the Alpha variation and it's pack. While there weren't any deaths, the wolves were a tremendous annoyance to deal with. Edward had to leave the Anna to defend the merchants while he targeted the Alpha. Which was doing a good job at hiding until he threw a fireball at it when he noticed it.

It ended up leading him into an annoying chase until it ran off with third degree burns on it's side. Thankfully the other wolves followed their leader as well...so it seemed it wouldn't return for sometime.

Finally after arriving safely he was given payment...but it wasn't the amount agreed upon.

The Anna told him that since the merchants were injured, thankfully not fatal, and the food was partially damaged in the fight. She deducted payment because of his 'poor' performance. He knew the risks of it happening since it was an Anna he was dealing with.

Who are infamous in either being your 'good friend' or be a _**nightmare**_ to those they consider they're enemies, but someone would have to do something really beyond the levels of stupidity to achieve that kind of status.

He knows that it's a rather broad brush to think of that particular family of merchants like that. Since he's actually on good terms with the Anna who was married to Jason. And she does tend to tell him where he might find some jobs with good payment.

Still, in the end, he decided not to argue and take the payment then parted ways with the Anna. All before deciding to go for a damn drink. Which leads to where he is now...

He chugs the last of his drink before getting up and stepping outside of the tavern.

His breath was visible in the cold air, it was already winter here in Ylisse. Thankfully it's not as bad as it is in Regna Ferox, where random blizzard storms happen without warning. But it does snow from time to time...

The Witcher rubbed his hands together before walking up to the notice board placed outside the tavern.

While not used in every town or village, it does provide information to the locals of events coming up. Or when the landlord has decided to raise the rent, or taxes if he's an asshole noble. Or other things that happen...thankfully no mention of undead or war as of yet.

Till then he'll carry on as normal, since it does provide jobs for a willing passerby, if it actually pays well enough.

'Let's see,' Edward glanced at the board skimming through the posts. 'Coin for firewood, clothing in exchange for service, cleaning the outhouses, lessons on how to be higenick with the word hygienic spelled wrong.'

"Nothing," He muttered as he let out a sigh. "Haven't found a decent paying job in weeks."

Deciding to leave he makes his way to his horse, Emi. Who was left outside of the tavern, outside in the bitter cold.

The horse let out a puff of air when she saw him approaching.

"Time to go Emi," He softly says as he pats her side before pulling himself up.

With snap of the reins he canters out of the small town he was in, heading south along the main road.

He would have have headed further north for a more guarantee chance of jobs but...it was already winter. Usually at this time of year, all of the Outrealmers head back to Ylisstol. It somehow became a tradition when Suki and Midori had planned to do a Christmas like celebration. As the two did miss home...

After that one was more or less successful, everyone unanimously decided to do it every year. Plus it helped that the eggnog was very delicious, Nai is a master in the art of cooking. She adds just the right amount of alcohol...at least she made sure to make a non-alcohol version for those who didn't want to drink.

Snow starts to fall as he and his horse traveled down the road.

He knows if it starts to become heavier then he'll have to find shelter.

**"Awooo!"**

Emi stooped in her tracks as he pulled the reins back.

The howl he just heard was distinct, that of a mountain wolf. But it was so close to town, something was wrong. He leans forward and forces Emi to gallop in the direction of the howl.

After a few minutes of a forced pace, he slows her down then hears the howling further down the road.

"Dammit, must be another caravan..." He mutters as he forces Emi into another gallop.

He quickly comes into sight of the screams, and nearly raises an eyebrow.

There was a fancy looking carriage and surrounding it were four armored knights. Trying to protect it from ten or so wolves...five on one side and four on the other. They were having some sort of stand off...the wolves were just snarling and howling at them. Likely wanting to distract one knight so the other can be attacked...but these knights seemed trained enough.

'Fancy carriage, might be a noble...' He thought before forcing it to the back of his mind. 'There is no visible signs of a mountain wolf, just these normal ones...an Alpha Variant? Same one or other?'

He slides off Emi then pulls out his steel sword and wills mana into his free hand.

Flames ignited between his fingers before growing and forming into a ball of fire. He casts the fireball towards the larger number of wolves, the spell makes contact with the ground in front of the wolves. It doesn't hit any of them but it forces them back.

Quickly he casts another fireball at the smaller number of wolves and achieves the same effect.

The wolves moved back before looking at him, which he simply forms another fireball and let it hover over his fingers.

"Come on..." He whispered as he narrowed his eyes. "If your watching then you'd send your pups after the bigger threat."

Save for the growling, there was silence as he stared off with the wolves.

**"Awooo!"**

Finally the distinct howl echos through out the forest surrounding them, a second later the wolves stopped growling then quickly turn to leave.

'That's...strange...' The Witcher thought as he watched the wolves leave the area. 'They should have-'

He hears branches of trees snap and turns to see a familiar animal. It was the Alpha variant the one he gave third degree burns to...it seemed reasonably pissed off.

"Oh great..." He muttered as he dispelled the fireball and twirled his blade. "You're here for some pay back aren't you..."

As if it understood him, the mountain wolf snarled as it glared at him. Seemingly ignoring the knights and the fancy carriage.

'Alright, this Alpha is bigger than Emi,' Edward thought as he got ready for a possible attack. 'And it called off it's wolves...really must be pissed off. That's good...it'll fight on it's own.'

'Have to lead it away...' With that thought he willed his mana into his sword.

It sparked little embers before igniting into flames.

From what seemed to be at the sight of it, the Alpha barked before lowering it's head and growled.

'Smart enough not to charge...' He smirked before dispelling the flames. 'Knows I'll just use my flames like last time.'

Slowly he starts to back away, fortunately the wolf started to follow at the same pace. Carefully he draws it out of the forest and onto the road, it's back was facing the carriage.

Thankfully the knights were more focused on staring at the thing then recklessly charge at it. Which would've made things more complicated, though...

He notices that one of the knight sends a hand signal to the other three. They slowly start to bring themselves closer to each other, into some type of formation.

The Witcher gritted his teeth as he stopped and the wolf did as well.

'Hopefully they actually help...cause this is going to be annoying.' He narrows his eyes as the wolf raised it's head. 'It's done waiting...'

The Alpha charged at him barely giving him time to roll to the side. He jumps back as it turns and tries to bite him with it's massive jaws.

He slashes at it, barely grazing it's mouth, he quickly casts a blast of wind to push it back. It staggers for a moment letting him cast another spell, this time it was a blade of wind. The blade hits the side of the wolf, making it howl in pain as it staggered back. It quickly recovered and attacks again...

Edward cursed as he rolls and jumps to the side. The wolf was slashing, stomping, and trying to pounce at him. Barely giving him a chance to breathe let alone counter attack.

He casts a fireball in front of him, forcing the wolf to dodge and come at him from a different angle. He casts a blast of wind at the wolf forcing it to stagger once more.

Not wasting a second he casts a stream of flames and slowly advanced to it. The wolf began to back away, before it let out a distressed howl.

It was quickly followed by other howls.

'Shit' The Witcher glanced back at the carriage. The knights started to fall back to the carriage, they were obviously weren't going to help. He would have to end quickly...

He stops casting and wills a large amount of mana into his sword. Covering it with swirling green air. The wolf charged at him, leaving it vulnerable to what was coming.

Moving into a familiar stance he slashed horizontally at the wolf, and a large green blade of wind is casted from the sword. The spell connects with the wolf's legs, forcing it to trip and fall on the ground. Right in front of him...

He quickly gets on top of the wolf and brings his blade down on it's neck. It howled in pain as he stabbed and twisted several more times until it stopped moving.

Edward breathed in and out then slid off the wolf move a few feet away, he felt a familiar liquid travel down his nose. He ignores it as he flicks his sword before putting it back in it's sheath.

He knows that he isn't going to collapse or feel a migraine, since he didn't put too much into his strike. But there are times his nose would start to bleed, mostly when he uses large amounts of mana in quick successions.

'Oh, great...' He wiped his nose as he watched two of the four knights slowly walk up to him. '...Now to deal with the knights. Two coming up, the other two are spreading out a little more, setting up a line of defense...'

Before he could say anything however the carriage's doors opened up. And out stepped a figure in red.

Edward rose an eyebrow as the two knights stopped and turned back.

"Milady," One of the knights said as she approached the figure. "It is not safe to-"

"The wolves have left, as the large one has died." The figure says with a distinctive feminine voice. "And I very much doubt this stranger would do anything. If he does then I have you to rely on Sara."

The knight, Sara sighed as she stepped back allowing the figure to turn.

It was a women, with long crimson hair hair and bright golden eyes. She had a thin red veil covering the lower half of her face.

'Fancy yet modest red dress,' Edward thought as he watched the woman approach him. 'With white slick gloves, crimson hair and golden eyes. Interesting traits...definitely someone in a high social status. What's she doing out here...likely something cliche...'

"I thank you for your assistance," The noble says as she does a light bow. "May I have your name?"

"Edward," He slowly says as he stares at her neutrally. "Edward Winchester, may I have yours?"

"You may call me Serena," She says in a professional manner. "May I ask how you used magic like that? It was rather unique."

"Oh, I simply used this..." Edward rummaged through his pockets before pulling out a small tome. "It's a special tome that helps the wielder use whatever kind of traditional spell. Just by having mana flow through it..."

"Though it's not easy to make...and is truly rare." He causally says as he puts it back in his pockets. "And my sword is enchanted, similar to a Levin Sword."

Of course...he was lying about the first part though it was somewhat true. There are rumors and stories that there are tomes that can have specific functions. From a small heater to even a megaphone, though they are rare and difficult to make. So only those with necessary knowledge and resources tend to have them.

Example being the Anna's and their 'special' grade tomes...something unknown and tried to see for himself. But was sternly warned not to by Jason's Anna, he was told it wouldn't be wise. He did not need to be told twice...that woman can look scary when she wants to.

Second part is true, he does ask Nai to enchant his blades every once and awhile. It makes it easier for him to will and control mana in them.

"It certainly is effective..." The noble says as she looked at the dead wolf. She seemed to have believed the lie.

"Lady Serena," The Witcher, deciding to change the topic, crossed his arms. "If it isn't rude, may I ask why you're out here? It is a rather dangerous road to be traveling in with light protection, with no disrespect to your guards of course."

"To put it simply, I am searching for someone," She places her hands together. "A close relative of mine, who is missing."

"Milady," The knight, Sara, speaks up. "I don't believe it is wise to tell him-"

She stops when Serena raises her hand.

"Sara, I understand what you are going to say," She lowers her hand. "But I am sure a random stranger wouldn't pose a problem."

'Does she have any idea how many ways that can actually be a problem?' Edward fought the urge to roll his eyes. 'Still I might have found work...'

"This relative of yours is missing?" He rose an eyebrow and glances at the knights. "And you decided to search for them yourself."

The golden eye woman nodded, "Yes, it is important that I find my relative before anything terrible happens."

'Her tone sounds genuine,' He thought as he narrowed his eyes. 'Either she's mastered the _game_ or she does care for this person. Still not my place to be in the affairs of nobility...but a job is a job.'

"May I offer my assistance in that matter?" He asks as he tilts his head. "I am what is known as a Witcher, a profession that more or less assists people in need. Whether it be hunting dangerous beasts or searching for those who are missing..."

"Of course, I don't do these services without a form of payment."

Sara narrowed her eyes at him, "So you are a mercenary?"

That 'question' was a statement which irritated him a little, "I am a Witcher, not a mercenary."

"Regardless of what you are," Serena says as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you able to find people with little information and lack of attention?"

"Milady-"

"Interesting question," He uncrossed his arms. "Managed to find a lost child with nothing but a broken toy to go on. As for being discreet, it depends on the job...but I do keep my lips sealed."

Of course he's exaggerating a little, but it might help him gain the job.

The noble stared at him for what could have been minutes or seconds. It felt as if she was trying to analyze him, trying to measure his worth.

"Defeating that creature certainly proved your skills in combat," She sighs after a few seconds. "Alright, I'll accept your offer of help...I do not know why, but something in your eyes says you'll get it done."

"Milady-"

"Sara, I understand this is likely dangerous..." Serena narrows her eyes as she stares at the knight. "...But we have been searching for so long and far. We have found _nothing._ If we were to continue as we are, we'll likely never find her. We must take a risk in order to even have a chance to find her...and bring her home."

The knight became silent then reluctantly nodded.

"Who exactly am I looking for?" Edward asks, breaking the silence. "You said her, but what's her name, age and anything that can be recognizable?"

"Her name is Shiro," Serena cast her eyes downward. "She has silver hair, brown eyes and is no older than sixteen. She is my daughter."

'Daughter? She doesn't look past her twenties.' He thought as he narrowed his eyes.

"Rather...my step daughter that is," The crimson hair woman sighed as her hands clenched tightly. "I was married to her father at a young age."

'Oh, arrange marriage then...' He took a random note of that. 'Other than that, I don't really care.'

"Shiro..." He slowly says. "Is that a Chon'sin style name?"

"Yes, when she was born one of the maids, being of Chon'sin decent, offered that name. My husband loved it..."

"You are looking for your daughter, who is missing, has silver hair, brown eyes, and is sixteen years old." The Witcher sums up as he crosses his arms once more. "Do you know how she turned up missing and any reason why? It may provide a clue to her whereabouts..."

"I apologize..." The noble cast her eyes downward. "I cannot provide such information, I can say however is that I know she is making a journey north. Likely heading towards Regna Ferox, and she's using this route..."

"A dangerous route at that," He narrowed his eyes once again. "I assume she has experience in traveling, and has hunting skills? Or isn't by herself?"

'That or possibly something else...' He noted for possible future clues.

"Yes, she always liked to shoot her bow and often spent time alone outside the home..." Serena answers, sounding like she was reminiscing something. "Still, as I said before she is traveling north, for what reason I cannot say. However if you succeed in bringing her back, I'll reward you for your effort and discretion."

"As dangerous as it can be to trust a stranger," Edward bowed his head. "You can trust in the fact that'll I do my job."

'Plus I couldn't care less of the affairs of nobles...' He thought as he raised his head. 'As long as this doesn't end up with me discovering that the 'step daughter' is actually 'property' of someone. Or something worse...wouldn't be the first time I've encountered that type of noble.'

"How long have you been looking for her?"

"...Less than a week...but she's been gone longer than that."

"Then if you're this far north..." He rests his chin on his palm. "It's possible she's in Regna Ferox or near there...I know a few places to start."

'Though this is one of the ways the hard jobs start...' He reminded himself. 'As much as this might be a simple search quest, there might be something wrong with this one. It doesn't help that Serena didn't share that much. Wouldn't be surprised if she lied about a few things as well.'

"Milady," Sara speaks up. "As much as I advise against this, I understand the advantage in doing this. Lady Shiro will likely see us coming as we have to protect you. However..."

She narrows her eyes and glares at him, "If Lady Shiro is harmed by you in anyway..."

'Not bad...' He thought as he narrowed his eyes back. 'She could use a bit more practice in intimidation, it takes more then just gripping your weapon and narrowing your eyes.'

"I can't promise on her condition when I find her," He slowly says. "But I will make sure no harm comes to her."

The knight didn't stop staring but her glaring lessened a little.

Edward looks at Serena, "Where do I find you when I find her?"

"...There is a town down this road." She tilts her head. "I can await for you there, but my time is limited but I can wait."

"Alright, I'll set out then..." The Witcher does a polite bow before turning to leave. "Till we meet again, Lady Selena."

* * *

It had been a couple of days since that encounter, and by luck he actually found a trail. At least the trail of a 'ghost' that is...

On his journey north he had stopped by a few nearby villages, asking the locals if they seen any 'unique' looking travelers. Long story short, in one village he learned that a silver haired woman had provided the village with meat and fur. In exchange for warmer clothing, food, and low grade medicine were provided for her.

When asked about where the silver haired woman went, the village elder could only point vaguely west. When asked if there was a village out there, the elder had said no. But he did say that there was an odd occurrences there lately...

Apparently whenever they sent out a hunting party out in that direction. They experience things they claim were frighting, there are claims that they heard voices. Saying things such as 'Leave this place', or 'Go away'. If the hunting party presses on then they start to hear strange sounds. It was described as some sort of screeching noise and finally if the screeching doesn't stop them. Rocks, logs, and even arrows that come from nowhere land by them.

They either miss they're feet or hit the trees next to them. When they look to see the possible thrower/shooter, they see nothing but an empty forest. That always drives the hunting back to the village in fear, they claim it's spirits or a curse in that part of the forest.

The elder didn't go into more detail after that and warned him to be cautious if he ventured there. The Witcher did ask a few follow up questions and got some answers.

Apparently the silver haired woman arrived to the village a few days after the strange occurrences began. The village elder had asked her about it, and apparently the woman told him she didn't experience such things.

...Of course it didn't seem like she experienced anything like that. He guessed it was likely something that may be seen as cliche...

Edward breathed into gloved hands as he looked at his surroundings.

He was a bit far from the village, in the direction of the elder had pointed to him. He had left his mount back at the village, not before taking a few things with him out of caution.

Slowly he steps through the forest, which was quiet save for the occasional bird chirp. For a few minutes nothing happens, it seemed as if the forest was normal just like any other.

"...Leave..." Finally, as faint as a whisper he hears it. A voice that was soft yet on edge...he can't tell if it's a man or a women's.

He glances around and sees nothing before pressing onward.

"...Leave...now..." The voice speaks once more, he couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"Interesting..." He mutters as he flexed his fingers.

It continued on for a few minutes, as he walked through the forest he hears the voice. As the hunting parties had claimed, the voice told him to leave and go away. Oddly there appeared to be an order of the words would say. It will say leave twice, then it follows with go and away. After another away it starts again from leave, as if it was in a loop.

Finally it suddenly stops, and was immediately followed with a screech.

It pained his ears a little as he gritted his teeth, he glanced around and he still saw nothing.

"This is going to be annoying..." He muttered as he started walking again.

The screeching continued relentlessly as he paced himself through the forest.

Thankfully after another set of minutes the screeching completely stops.

'Okay, first the voice, then that damn screeching...' He thought as he glanced around. 'Next should be-'

A large rock lands by his feet, follow by several more. He moves to the side to avoid getting hit...

**_Snap!_ **

He turns in time to see a roped log coming at him, forcing him to jump to the side and watch the log land on the ground. It stands for a second before it falls flat...

The Witcher silently cursed as he pulled himself up. Only to stop when an arrow lands at his feet, he looks up to see another arrow fly right past his face. Impaling itself right into a tree next to him.

He eyes widen at little as he looked at the arrow then the direction it came from. Seeing nothing there, he then turns and pulls out the arrow from the tree before inspecting it. It was a commonly seen and made arrow, there wasn't visibly special about it...it was normal.

Nothing of the supernatural sort...

'Well, this so called spirit may actually be a person...' He thought as he dropped the arrow. 'And the voice, rocks and log were some form of traps meant for scaring people away...obviously. Though how were the voices done? Some type of spell? Enchantment? Have to figure that out later...'

'Still, who ever did that isn't messing around,' He thought as he narrowed his eyes. 'That shot could've killed me, but I think shooter just wants to drive me away. Interesting...but I shouldn't press my luck too much...let's see where the next one comes fr-.'

"Don't move..." He hears the voice again, this time it was directly behind him.

'Dammit, must've have snuck behind me after the arrow was shot.' He thought as he chose to comply. 'Not feeling any metal against my back, either using a bow or tome. Or has nothing at all...can't risk it. Not unless...'

"Take out your sword and throw it far to your right." The voice instructs. "Do not try to be clever..."

Deciding not to be clever, he slowly takes out his sword and tosses it beyond his reach.

"You know-"

"Do not speak unless I specify so," The voice cuts him off. "Now...why are you here?"

"Investigating the odd occurrences in this forest," He bullshits. "As the nearby village's hired me to do so, I guess it wasn't a spirit after all. You sound too normal to be from the other side..."

The voice stayed silent.

"So, how are we doing this?" He asks. "You would have easily killed me by now..."

"You were asked to leave and you refused to comply."

"Yeah there's that," He lets out a sigh, deciding to take a risk. "Though I did leave out something, I'm not here on just a single job. I'm also looking for someone..."

"...Who..." The voice sounded on edge. He'd have to choose his words carefully...

"Silver hair, brown eyes, and bears the name Shiro." He slowly says. "Her 'mother' is looking for her."

"...So she's desperate enough to hire a random brigand." He hears the voice whisper. "I hoped she'd given up by now..."

It made him smirk...

"So you weren't this far off," He states as he slowly shook his head. "Honestly thought you'd be harder to track, though I'm probably just lucky."

"...Who are you?"

"Edward Winchester," He let's out a smirk. "I'm what's known as a Witcher."

"Witcher?"

"Just think of it as a cross of a monster hunter and a person who helps people for a fee."

"So a form of mercenary then."

That slightly irritated him, but he chose not to respond.

"Mind if I turn around?" The Witcher asks. "It's kinda pointless to try to hide your identity if I know who you are."

"You know nothing..."

"Of course I don't know you personally," He slowly says. "I just know your name...Shiro."

"...Slowly turn around, do not do anything foolish."

He complies and sees an interesting sight.

It was a young girl, about Suki's age, she had silver hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a white cloak and clothing that matched with the snow around her. There was a white veil that covered the lower half of her face. She held a standard looking bow, with the string pulled back and an arrow pointing directly at him.

"...Who sent you?" She asks, even though she was clearly female. The voice she spoke with made it difficult to tell, that was interesting.

"Serena, if that's her name." He casually shrugs. "Wouldn't be the first time that a noble has given me a false name. One way to be discreet..."

"You are right, her name isn't that alias she commonly uses." She narrowed her eyes. "Though she didn't gave you a false name for me. Damn her..."

"So name really is Shiro," He smirked. "Though I guess the origin of it is different from what was told."

"What did _that_ woman tell you? That it was a Chon'sin maid that offered the name to my father?"

"Yes and I guess that isn't true at all..."

"Correct..." Shiro sighs. "_That_ woman has a way to convince people of her stories..."

"Not if they're used to such things," Edward says then shakes his head. "Still, I'm guessing there's some back story to all of this. Not really going to ask about that, but I will ask this. Why are you here specifically? Why not be in Regna Ferox where it is a lot harder to find someone? It's not far off..."

"...That isn't of importance," She narrows her eyes once more as she glared at him. "Now since you found me, you can leave since I'm not going back."

"And not figure out why you set those traps?" He crosses his arms. "Cause that's rather odd, sure it keeps the locals out. But those like me would be a bit too curious. Since it draws attention...something you likely not want."

"It is none of your business," She tilts her head. "It is better if you leave now..."

"Or what?" He couldn't help but ask. "If you wanted me dead, that arrow would be in my skull. From what I understand, you'd have no trouble at that."

Her eyes narrowed at him, he could swear that he saw the bow twitch a little. He has to be careful, while he knows a few ways of how to get out a situation like this. He'd rather not harm her if he could help it, he still has a job to do. Plus it'll be much easier if she was willing to travel with him. It'd be an annoyance if he had to hogtie her to Emi the entire way...

His horse probably wouldn't enjoy that...she'd probably just shake the girl off.

"Still," He sighs as he tilts his head. "I can't help but be curious, especially with how you're acting."

Shiro didn't say anything nor did her glare lessen in anyway.

"Trying to chase away people," He slowly says closing his eyes. "Keeping them away, but from what? You? But it'd be much simpler if you stayed hidden, you seem very capable of that. No there is something else isn't there?"

"...Enough of this!"

He feels something fly right past his cheek and past him. Slowly he opened his eyes to see the girl draw a another arrow from her cloak. There was some kind of box like container strapped to her back.

"I'll give you this last warning..." She slowly says as she draws an arrow. "Leave...n-"

**_"Raaah!"_**

A roar echos through the forest around them. It sounded as if it was coming from above yet in front of them.

"No..." The girl in front of him slowly says in shock. "It can't be back so soon..."

"What are you-"

"Leave this place if you value your life!" She turned and ran towards the likely origins of the roar.

"Wait! Dammit..." Edward cursed as he moved to grab his sword and ran after the girl.

* * *

'What the hell is going on!?' The Witcher thought as he ran after Shiro.

They've been running for a few minutes, the white cloaked girl seemed to ignore him as they ran through the forest. What ever that roar was, she seemed fixated on getting to it.

Finally after stumbling into a small clearing they make it to the source. As well as unexpected sight...

In front of them some distance away, was a large wyvern. Pale, it's scales where whiter than the snow around it. A long tail with clawed feet and folded wings. With an empty saddle on it's back. But this wasn't shocking to Edward, no it was what was in front of the wyvern. Or rather who...

A short distance away from the wyvern, was what can only be described as a large killer rabbit. Much larger than a horse with dark fur and large ears. It was a Taguel with purple leather like armor, in a defensive like stance against the wyvern.

'Holy shit...' Was all the Witcher could think as he stared at the taguel in shock. 'That's...Panne! Why is she here!?'

The pale wyvern growled as it glared at the taguel, it looked ready to attack.

"Dammit..." He hears Shiro whisper as she took out an arrow. "She hasn't even recovered yet..."

Wondering what she meant he noticed something with both Panne and the wyvern.

On Panne, there were burn marks on her fur, and what appeared to be a large bite mark on one of her legs. He looks at the wyvern and notices various claw marks on it's hide. Even on it's head...

'They're both injured,' He thought of the obvious before narrowing his eyes. 'She must've had a previous encounter with this wyvern and it's rider. Now it wants pay back...dammit, have to help. Panne can not die here!'

'Pale wyvern...riderless...almost as large as Panne.' He sighed as he starts to will his mana. 'High resistance or immune to fire, dangerous from front and back. Swift strikes and keep moving, just like that bastard had taught me.'

"Listen carefully," He hears Shiro whisper. "Leave now, if you get involved I cannot guarantee your life. Do not engage the taguel or the wyvern."

"...Huh, I'm honestly surprised." He smirks as he got ready. "Tell me Shiro, are you protecting the taguel or wyvern? If you're protecting the taguel then I'll help. But if it's the wyvern...then I can't guarantee _your_ life."

While he would only incapacitate her, it'd be a pain if she was defending the wyvern. But he has to make sure Panne makes it through this...survival was at stake after all. By survival, he means that little family of his...

Shiro turned towards him, her eyes were widened in shock. As if she expected him to say something else...

"Whatever you answer is," He slowly says as green air becomes visible around his arms. "Better make it quick."

Not waiting for a response he casts blade of wind at the wyvern. The beast didn't notice it till the last second, it staggered back a bit.

"OI!" He yells at Panne as he runs to the side. "Now's your chance, attack it!"

Whether or not she actually listened to him, Panne charged forward. She stops right in front of the staggered beast, kicks it's head.

The pale wyvern was pushed back and ended up landing on it's side. Panne quickly jumped back, distancing herself from the beast. The beast itself let out a breath of flames as it started to get up, looking angered.

"Dammit, we just pissed it off..." He muttered as he moved towards the beast.

The wyvern growled before it raised it's wings and breathed fire once more.

Edward jumped back and towards some nearby trees. Using them as cover as he tried to get to it's side. The beast didn't let him as it moved towards him as it continued to breath flames.

"Dammit," He muttered as he avoids the flames.

The wyvern stops breathing out it's flames and roars at him. Leaving it vulnerable at it's side. An arrow bounces off it's hide making it turn and roar at it's current attacker.

Taking the chance, he moves and slashes at the beast's wings. Then jumps back to avoid a strike from it's tail. He jumps back to avoid another hit from the tail, using the trees as cover.

The beast is pushed back by Panne who slams into it, then swipes at it with her claws. She dodges a bite from the wyvern then slashes at it's head. The beast roars in pain before beating it's wings, pushing both Panne and itself away.

The wyvern lands a short distance away and roars, though this one made the ground shake and forced the witcher to cover his ears.

'Dammit, if it's this loud with me...' He glances at Panne. He sees that the taguel was flinching as her ears were being covered by her paws. The roar was effecting her much worse...

'So she's that sensitive to noise,' He thought as he willed his mana once more. 'Doesn't help with her injured state...'

The beast finishes it's roar as it glare at Panne, it bared it's teeth as it took a step forward.

Edward rushes from the trees and casts another wind blade at the beast. This time aiming for it's wings, the beast sees it coming and dodges it.

It roars as it raises it's wings and begins to beating them. Slowly lifting itself from the ground, and gaining altitude.

'Dammit, it's going to fly off or attack,' He thought as he willed his mana for another spell. 'I don't have any range weapons other than my spells. Need to bring it down...'

He casts two more blades of wind in separate directions. The pale wyvern dodged the first but was hit by the second when it manages to tear a bit of it's wing. The beast roars in pain as it falls, then crashes onto the ground with a loud thud.

Wasting no time, Edward rushed at the wyvern and stabs his blade into it's neck. The beast roared as blood drew from the wound, it swipes at him with it's injured wing. Forcing him to let go of his sword and jump back to avoid the hit.

The beast didn't give him a second, as it followed up with it's tail. It whips him and launches him a few feet away, right into a tree.

"Dammit..." The witcher cursed as he stood up while clutching the area he was hit. While it hurt like hell, there weren't any broken bones so he was still good.

The wyvern roared in pain as it moved it's neck, his blade had fallen off of it and landed somewhere in the snow.

He silently cursed as he wills his mana once more. He knows that if he keeps this up he'll eventually reach that vulnerable state. He has to rap this up...he's has to use on his specials...

As fast as he could, he draws as much as he can, willing it into his arms. Green air swirls around him before it appears around his arms.

As if sensing a threat, the pale wyvern turns toward him roaring. He was vulnerable right now, if he moves then he won't be able to use the spell. But if he doesn't then he'll hit by flames or teeth...

"Come on..." He grits his teeth as he draws more mana. "Just a little more..."

The wyvern approached him as it bared it's teeth as he saw embers from it's mouth. As it was about to breath fire at him, something crashes into it...Panne.

The taguel, using her hind legs, pushes the wyvern onto the ground and on it's back. Panne forces herself on top the beast, pinning it with her weight. She starts to slash at the wyvern neck at a rapid speed.

The beast roars in pain at tries to bite at her, but only to get swiped by her claws. The wyvern roars in pain before it's head fell to the ground, and stopped moving.

Edward let out a breath as the green air around him slowly dissipated. He watched Panne move away from the now dead beast before she actually collapses.

He hears heavy breathing coming from her before he notices that her ears were starting to shrink. Her entire form started to shrink, along with her claws retracting and her legs taking shape to that of a human.

In what felt like seconds, he watches her form change from a rabbit to that of a woman. Looking as the exact resemblance to that image he had seen of her so long ago. Her wounds were still present in various places but one thing stuck out to him.

...She looked undoubtedly beautiful...

The Witcher shook that thought out of his head as he approached the unconscious woman.

"Don't get closer," He hears a feminine like voice from behind him.

Slowly he turns to see Shiro pointing her bow at him. Her white veil was off of her face for some reason.

"Really?" He asks as he sighed. "This stand off again?"

"Who...what are you?" She asks as she narrowed her eyes. "No mere mage could use magic as you did."

"As much as I want to entertain your questions," He rolls his eyes in annoyance. "I have to help the taguel behind me, I'd rather not have her die on me."

"Why would you want to help her?"

He sighs as he crossed his arms, "The Witcher's hypocritical oath."

She tilts her head in confusion.

"I'm sworn not to kill sentient creatures that can be reasoned with if possible." He glances at the unconscious taguel then back to her. "Creatures like her, we're supposed to protect along with humans. And she is a taguel, an endangered race, she cannot die here. Not if I can help it..."

While he was bullshitting her about the oath, he's not lying about not killing sentient life. At least when he can actually reason with it, or use alternative methods other than killing when it comes to dealing with such things.

One of the few things that _bastard_ had taught him, it doesn't always take a sword to finish a job. Something he knew from the get go...

"You don't see her as a monster?" She asks, sounding genuinely surprised.

While he was surprised by the question, Edward fought the urge to roll his eyes as he shook his head.

Quietly she sighs then lowers her bow.

"Pick her up carefully and follow me," She instructs. "I know a place where we can safely heal her."

He simply nodded as he turned and approached the taguel. She was breathing heavily but there appeared to be no signs of bleeding. She was still alright for now, hopefully the concoctions he has will be enough. Panne's survival takes priority over the job he accepted.

Carefully he gently lifts Panne bridal style before turning to follow Shiro.

He doesn't know why the girl seemingly wants to help the taguel. But he didn't want to care as long she didn't become a threat to the taguel in any manner. So for now he'll follow her but will be cautious...

* * *

"Please lay her down gently, I'll fetch some water."

Edward said nothing as he carefully laid Panne down on the ground. She was still out cold, but thankfully her wounds weren't any worse. There weren't any signs of infection, but it'll take sometime for her to fully recover.

'Can't heal her myself since I can't use healing magic.' He thought as he narrowed his eyes. 'I do have a concoction and a few vulneraries. Maybe that can work, her anatomy is more or less similar to our's. Since she actually have a child with a human, but can't eat potatoes for some reason.'

He glances behind him, Shiro was in front of a small campfire. It had a pot with what assumed to be boiling water. There was a duffel like bag a short distance from her.

Quietly he turns and pulls out a small bottle that was strapped to his side. He uncorks it and brings it close to the taguel's mouth. Carefully lifting her head, and avoiding touching the ears, he pours the drink into her mouth. After that was done, he gently places her back down and stares the wounds.

Some were starting to close but the others were still present. But it still healed her somewhat, though it really will take time for them to heal naturally. That was thing about healing potions...

While they are able to heal most wounds, they are only as useful as the quality they are made. If he had used an Elixir, no doubt all of the injuries would have healed. But since he used a standard concoction, it did less than half the desired effect.

He sighs as he corks the bottle and puts it back.

"You healed her?" He turns to see Shiro approaching them with a cup of clean water.

"More or less," He shrugs as she crouched next to the taguel. "Only have a concoction and a few vulneraries, not enough to heal her completely."

"That is better than the medicine I received from the village." She says as she gently lifts the head of the taguel. "At best it can only heal bruises and small cuts. Most village alchemists around this area don't have access to ingredients necessary for a normal vulnerary."

She carefully feeds the unconscious Panne water.

"You know I'm surprised you're helping her." The witcher says as he sits down. "Most people would be down right afraid of Taguel."

"...I am not most people..." She simply says as she removes the cup and places Panne's head down. "She should be fine for sometime, but I don't know what will happen if she wakes up."

"...Either she runs or tires to fight." He mutters as he shook his head. "She'll likely be suspicious and distrust to us...for good reason."

"What makes you say that?"

"Most likely for her," He grits his teeth. "Humans have done nothing but hunt down her kind, unprovoked, without reason for an unknown amount of time. Their numbers have thinned so much it is impossible to know how many are left. It's even possible to say that she..."

He shakes his head, "Never mind that, all that matters is that she is safe and will leave this place. Taguel's are like nomads after all..."

"Still," He tilted his head. "Why exactly are you helping her? And how exactly did you come across a taguel?"

Shiro becomes quiet, then sighs as she sits down.

He doesn't expect her to answer, if she does then she does, if she doesn't than it doesn't really matter to him. She hasn't shown any hostile intent...

"While I will not say the exact reason why, I can say that I encountered her after seeing that pale wyvern fly off." She finally says. "I decided to investigate the area, as it was rather close to the village. I initially believed that there was a nest."

"And you wanted to smash it's nest." Edward concluded. "That or take any eggs it might have laid to lure it someplace far from the village if possible."

"It was the latter with the former as a back up option." She glances down at the taguel. "But instead I found her, she was heavily injured, she likely encountered that wyvern by chance. Then injured it and herself in the process...I spent the last few days trying to heal her. I barely managed to feed her and kept her warm."

She sighs. "She only woke up today...but is in this state again due to today's events."

'So Panne wasn't at full strength due to injuries and lack of food.' He thought. 'A bad combination for anyone...even a taguel.'

"So you know of taguels and decided to help her for your own reasons." He says as he crossed his arms. "I can accept that, and I won't pry into your reasons as I have no true interest."

"...What happens now?" She asks as she stares at him. "Will you continue what you were originally here for?"

"I'll be honest..." He shook his head. "I didn't expect to encounter a taguel today...and while I like to keep my word. Let's just say that the taguel takes priority over the job I had before."

"Meaning that you'll be focused on that and happen to forget about somethings?" That sounded oddly hopeful coming from her.

Edward rose an eyebrow before considering his options.

He could try to drag her back, even though she'll most likely resist him. Plus since Panne has shown up he has to tell everyone about what happened. But he'll likely be lectured for some reason by Nai and Midori, either because he dragged a kid kicking and screaming. Or because he wasted time getting payed...

...No gold of any value is worth being on the receiving of those two. As it is the _Crimson Bitch_ and _The Demon Noir_...it still sends shivers down his spine when those two work together. Which thankfully isn't often...

"...Well I'll be honest," He slowly says as he shrugs. "I really have conveniently forget about the main reason I was here. Guess dealing with a wyvern and a taguel by yourself can do that to you."

"...Thank you."

He smirked, "By any chance would you happen to be leaving soon?"

"Wh-"

"The taguel won't wake up for sometime, plus _that_ woman you're avoiding may become impatient. She might decide to search for you again..."

"...I understand," She casts her eyes downward. "But what about her?"

"She'll be safe, I'll make sure of that."

"...I know this won't mean much," She stares at him. "Swear to me that you'll keep this taguel safe from harm."

"I swear on my oath as a witcher, I'll protect this taguel." He swears, face completely serious. "Now then do you have any food left? Cause you might want to spare some for the unconscious one."

The silver haired girl stared at him silently before nodding.

"I have some meat, a few fruits and some vegetables."

"Is the meat deer or other kind of animal? And any carrots?"

"Buck and I have a few carrots."

"That will have to do, spare some meat and give a few carrots please. The taguel will have to eat to get her strength back."

"Right," With that she gets up and proceeds to get the items.

Edward mentally sighed as he watched her open the duffel bag he saw earlier. He knows that there may be consequences for this, Selena or whatever that woman's true name is may not be a forgiving person. Not the first time he pissed off a noble, but he does have to be careful.

Whatever Shiro and that 'Serena' woman is involved in, it's likely complex and dangerous. Or purely simple and dangerous...either way he sure as hell doesn't want to get involved. So he'll settle for this choice...

'I'm a witcher not a hero...' He reminds himself.

He blinks to see Shiro coming up to him with some meat and a few carrots.

"This is all I can spare, I hope it's enough." She says as she hands the items to him.

"Enough to get her moving," He says. "Good luck to you where ever it is you're going."

"...May you fare well in you're travels." She says as she does a light bow before grabbing the duffel bag.

He watched her leave, after a few minutes he stares at nothing but snow and trees.

Finally he get's up and glances at Panne. He places the meat and carrots next to her, hopefully the first thing she sees when she wakes up.

'As much as I want to talk to her,' He thought as he turned to leave. 'It's better if I don't interact with her...otherwise I'll be tempted to follow her around. Not a good idea...'

Plus he still has to report this to the others, but he won't mention Shiro or that woman. He'll just say that he encountered Panne and the pale wyvern by random chance. Or alter the story a little...as he shouldn't get involved with the affairs of nobles.

He stops mid-step as an idea suddenly struck him. He takes out a knife from his person and carefully cuts his palm. Blood seeps from the wound and falls into the snow. It was a short distance away from the taguel...

"And thus you'll know my scent." He mutters as he put the knife away and clenched his bleeding hand. "For when we meet again on this damn path of our's."

'For it'll be one covered in blood...' He thought bitterly.

After that odd display he turns and leaves the taguel, with a small smile on his lips.

It was just another day as a witcher after all.

* * *

**A/N: And thus brings an end to this special chapter. It was rather difficult to write since I ended up scarping ideas and having to start from scratch. While it lead to better ideas, it wasn't fun since I got plagued by writer's block.**

**But enough about that, in case anyone wonders what Edward tells Lucina and the gang. Let's just say that it's altered a bunch except for when he encountered Panne and the wyvern...minus Shiro of course.**

**Speaking of her, let it be known that this isn't the last of Shiro and the woman calling herself Serena. Since it _will_ come back to bite Edward for his choices in the future...but that may not be for a while...**

**Anyway, read, review, or find or write a better story than this one. Tis your choice...**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Victory3114: Well that is true, war is a harsh thing as old as humans themselves. Leon does need to improve much more and faster if he wants to survive what's coming. Other wise...it won't be pretty.**

**Lucina does seem worried, as it seems her timelines event aren't happening as they should. Though it also bode the question what the her timeline's outrealmers did...as she is in her past so to speak.**

**Hopefully this chapter of Edward meeting Panne was good enough. Even though it wasn't a traditional meeting per say, though it'll be an interesting conversation between those two in the future. **

**Ah, Chrom and Frederick meeting Leon again...hopefully Leon finds something sturdy to hide against...cause he'll need it.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, as it belongs to it's respected owners.**

**Fair warning chapter has a tiny bit of graphic content...**

* * *

"Alright Donnel, try to hit me as hard as you can. Don't hold back..."

The villager nodded as he gripped his wooden sword then adjusted his pot helmet. The wooden was a simply made one, good enough for practice...

Edward nodded back as he lifted his own wooden blade. His was a bit shorter than Donnel's and looked much more weathered out.

"Ready...go!"

The clashing of wooden blades was soon heard.

Donnel slashes at Edward in an awkward looking angle, the older male blocked the hit easily.

"Not bad but try to hit from a different direction," Edward says as he pushes the wooden sword away. "And your grip is too hard, loosen it a bit or I'll end up knocking the blade from your hand."

"R-right, sir!" The curly haired boy says as he takes a step back.

"Don't call me sir," The 'Witcher' says as he twirls his wooden blade. "Now, once more."

Donnel swings his blade again, this time at a much better angle. His teacher still blocks the blade and pushes him back.

The villager staggers back then stands still as Edward's wooden blade hovers an inch over his eye. To say that Donnel looked afraid is an understatement...

"Improved your swing and grip, a good step." He says as he removes the sword. "But your strong but not fast enough to react. That is to be expected, it will improve with time."

"Then again," He shakes his head. "This is your first time trying to properly use a sword isn't it?"

"Yea..." Donnel nodded his head. "I only ever used a pitchfork and a sickle."

"Thought so," He crossed his arms. "Since your staring at us Leon. Might I ask how exactly have you ever used a sword?"

"...Marth is teaching me." I say as I rubbed the back of my head. "While I have learned a bit, I still have a long way to go."

"Why don't you show me?" He says as he looked at me. "Donnel give him your sword and watch this. You'll definitely learn something..."

"Right," The villager nodded as he approaches me and hands me his training weapon. "Here."

"Thanks," I say as I gripped the wooden blade. "Even though I didn't agree to this...guess I should have my ass kicked every other day."

"Like Donnel," Edward ignored what I said. "Try to hit me without holding back."

"Got it," I sighed as I approached him, testing the weight of the blade. About the same as the blade Suki gave me...shouldn't have to adjust anything.

Edward is likely experienced as hell and knows how to fight better than me. That much is obvious...don't want to use under hand tactics. Basic strikes...then he'll just hit me a few times while going easy and call it a day.

Dammit Lucina, you just had to 'scout' ahead after breakfast. Better not had ditched me with these guys!

"Ready?" He asks as I just sighed and got into a random stance.

I stare at him quietly for a second before charging at him head on.

As if expecting this he brings his blade up, ready to block.

Like I'm that predictable...

I stop and jump to the side, swinging my blade as I moved. He sides steps from the blade's path then blocks the incoming slashes.

He parried one before pushing me back, I took a step back before reverse gripping my blade.

He rose an eyebrow and then changed into a defensive looking stance.

I charge at him again, this time aiming for his legs. As expected he blocks it before it even made contact. I quickly followed up by trying to punch him in the face. He frees one of his hands to block my incoming strike. I moved my leg to try to kick him, but he pushes me onto the ground.

"Not bad..." He says as I sit up. "Changed attacks, tried to follow up, but overly aggressive and telegraphed your attacks. I could see what you were doing before you did it."

"What do you mean...exactly?" I asked as I stood up.

"Placement of arms, hands and direction you were looking at." He says making it all sound so simple. "Things you can see when you fight humans and monsters. Even if it's a subtle gesture, but it's not so easy to teach. Personally I had to learn from experience...same could be said for you and Donnel."

"I've learned enough," He twirled his wooden blade. "Give the sword back to Donnel will you? I have a student to teach...and you have a different teacher."

I say nothing as I toss the wooden blade to Donnel, who barely managed to catch it.

Deciding to ignore them I walk to a nearby tree and sit under it.

It's been two days since we left Donnel's village, and thankfully nothing much had really happened. A day ago, we did stop at a village to pick up some supplies. By supplies I mean some food and a couple of wooden swords. Apparently Edward didn't want to teach Donnel with real weapons, didn't want any chance of hurting the kid.

Yet Lucina insists of us using actual blades...though it helps with motivation not to get hit.

Still...other than that nothing else...

Edward's story is still going about in my head.

Apparently about two or so years ago, Edward had accepted a job to find a noble couple's young daughter that had gotten lost in a forest. He didn't exactly say where but it was someplace that was snowing. He managed to find the kid with no problem, apparently she had gotten lost when she saw some pretty flowers.

However, the real problems started when he was bringing her back. The two ended up encountering not only a wyvern but also Panne! From what Edward had described, Panne was defending herself from the wyvern. He bullshitted something about a 'Witcher's hypocritical oath' of protecting sentient creatures. So he had the kid hide while he engaged the wyvern, while also assisting Panne.

He didn't go into exact detail in how they defeated the wyvern, but at the end of the fight Panne had collapse and passed out from exhaustion. Her injuries were very serious, so he had to take her someplace safe and heal her. He went on about that Taguel's normal forms were very similar to that of humans. So she can be healed with potions and elixirs, which he had done exactly that.

After some time he mostly healed her injuries, but he had chose to leave her on her own. Lucina asked him why, and he answered that he couldn't risk her life. He believed that the daughter's parents would become impatient if he took a long time. If they send other people, then the chance of Panne being discovered would be an inevitably, and her life would be in danger.

Donnel asked why would she be in danger, to which Edward bluntly said that taguels were once hunted by humans. Out fear or some sick sense of glory, many taguels had fallen at the hands of humans. He said with open disgust that there was likely chance that the searchers of the daughter. Would want Panne as a trophy since there were so few left, or just as likely one.

So he took the child and brought her back to her parents. Thankfully he was able to convince the child to not talk about the taguel, he didn't how he did it.

After that he simply said he hasn't seen the taguel again. But he was confident that she's alive and traveling the continent somewhere. Holding the burden as possibly being the last of her kind.

Everyone went to sleep quietly that night and haven't talked about it since.

So yeah...nothing else happened after that...

...Lucina seems a bit...distracted for the past few days after that whole thing. Likely cause of Edward and Donnel...

I've given it some thought, I'm guessing that Edward had existed in Lucina's timeline. Due to what she whispered a few days ago. As well as possibly the rest of the outrealmers...and certain events happened that didn't happen in the original story. So that means Lucina has come from an alternative timeline likely created by the other outrealmers.

As she had reacted to Suki, which was rather weird, especially since she kinda got hostile with me for being near the Neptunia fan. Nai since she tried to keep me back from fighting her, saying that the redhead was at a level I couldn't hope to reach. Not sure about Midori, all she did was to stop her from slicing me in half, which I still need to thank her for. Jon is in the shepherds though I never saw her doing anything around him, but I was distracted by Robin.

Can't start thinking about the white haired beauty. Damn this crush...

Not sure of Jason, she didn't display any weird behavior with him, none that I've noticed at least. And Edward was obvious since she whispered something about him joining the Shepherds...likely with Donnel as well.

What about me? She hadn't really displayed any reactions...at least none that I've seen. I've literally am just nothing but a less than average person she just stumbled upon when hunting that damn bear. Who lied to her about being a tactician...

So am I one of the ones that never existed in her timeline, or never met her? If so, who else? And why are we here now?

The more I try to think on it...the less answers I can think of...I'm starting to hate multiverse time travel...

I sighed as I stare up at the sky...the clouds look rather nice today. And the slight breeze actually feels gentle on my skin...its rather peaceful.

Why am I here anyway...why this world...just why...I never had experience fighting...I never wielded a sword before...I've never...

...Killed anyone...

Dammit...

I shut my eyes as I quietly bite my lip using the pain to slowly refocus...

I've already forced myself to accept this reality, but it still is a lot harder than it sounds. But I can't break down and become bitchy about it...I have to learn to survive. I need to become strong and clever enough to make it through what's coming...

Other wise I'd not only be of no use but also dead. And likely come back as a rotting corpse...

Need to learn as much as I can with swords, tactics, and eventually magic if it actually manifests itself from me. If Nai was right I have less than a month...though if I get exposed to mana, would it accelerate the process? From the way that Nai had put it, it has to be a lot over a period of time.

And the only times I've truly been exposed to mana is by being healed by Lucina. Maybe I can to do a two pronged plan...

I can train and spar with Lucina to the point that were I'm hurt just enough to force her to heal me by sword and not potions. Thus not only increase my strength and skills but also accelerate the access for new skills. Increasing my chances to survive...and my usefulness...

But if that somehow works, and if I don't die in the progress...what exact magic would I have access to? Is it some type of affinity? Or something I choose? Or is it some random lottery chance type thing...if it is then I'll probably get shit magic, functional but likely shit.

Fire can be useful, but I'm not the type that likes to burns things and I'm not sure how would I control it's temperatures. Wind is useful, but I'm not sure I'll be able to properly control it. Electricity, I'll probably just shock myself somehow and anyone with metal or water based equipment regardless of them being friend or foe.

There's also dark and light magic...and from what I remember light magic doesn't exist anymore in this world for some reason. Lost to the ages...and then there's dark. While not necessarily evil, it is used comely by that wannabe dragon and his damn followers. It's definitely complex as hell and not likely to have non-faction affiliated teachers anytime soon.

Unless I somehow contract Tharja, or Henry to help me with that, though that would be difficult. As I don't know where to find them, or even begin to try to convince them to teach me. Unless I somehow become a servant to Tharja, and eventually find a way to convince her. Cause she isn't that bad of a person...despite her personality...would likely curse me a few times just to mess with me. Or get me to leave until I stubbornly stick around...

But that will likely make me abandon Lucina...rather not leave her alone. And I doubt I can come up with a way to make Tharja follow us...as she'll be busy stalking Robin. As she's a border line Yandere...

Henry...I have no idea...he's awesome but incredibly simple yet so complex psychology. Plus he might teach me a curse, then laugh when I accidentally curse myself with a lethal curse. So that's a no go...

What about the future kids?

I doubt Tharja's kid, Noire, would be much help with that split personality...not sure if any of the others know magic other than Laurent. Closest one could be Owain, but that's if Henry is his father...but that's a far off bet. There's Robin's kid...but not sure if Morgan has shown up...nor know where exactly he or she is...

...Dammit, this plan is risky but rewarding if I pull it off...and I really don't have a choice.

If events are happening in chronological order, then soon Plegia would declare war on Ylisse...and the eventual assassination attempt on Emmeryn. Lucina is my only indicator of when that will exactly happen, if she suddenly wants to head back to Ylisse, then the assassination is happening.

I have to increase my strength, knowledge and skill range by then. Other wise I'd be useless dead weight...that won't be worth dragging around. She'd likely ditch me and do the event by herself. I don't want her to do that...still owe her...

Alright then, I have to train as much as I can, and get healed by her _IF_ possible...can't make it obvious that I want to hurt myself. She'll get suspicious and question me about it, I may not be able to lie my way out of it. She'll likely force me to stop...and make me try a different way. A much slower less riskier way...

But we don't have time for that...

...Even though...this'll lead me to a path of more...more blood...I have to go through it.

There's no place else for me to go...

"OI, Leon!" Edward's voice forces me to open my eyes to look.

He was in front of me and holding out a wooden sword, from the corner of my eye I see that Donnel was still holding his. Is he going to make me fight him? Cause I'll just lose to him the way I am now...

"Come on, I'm curious to see how you and Donnel fare fighting together." He says as he smirked.

I'd probably would have made a smart comment about what he said a few minutes earlier but I need the opportunity. I have to get better...

"Sure. Why not..." I muttered as I got up to get my ass kicked.

Dammit all...

* * *

Edward smirked as the kid took the sword and moved towards Donnel.

He whispers something to his apprentice before he turned to him.

"So how you want us to do this?" He asked as he did a mock swing of the wooden blade. "Fight you with nonlethal weapons while you use your sword? But you don't have it on, so your going to use your magic aren't you?"

Oddly that last question sounded more like a statement.

"Heh," He crossed his arms. "It'd be dangerous for you two to fight me with steel. So this is the next best thing."

He wills his mana around his arms, till visible green wind is seen.

"Now then," He flexes his mana covered arms. "I'm going nonlethal but I won't go easy. I want the two of you to take your best shot at me."

'Then I can see what skills I can teach the two of them...' He thought as he stood there waiting. 'Plus measure their endurance, and ability as a pair. They did well enough against the bandit leader, but that was because he was angry and agitated. Though they did manage to strip his defenses and end him, they'll face opponents with cooler heads and greater skills.'

Leon narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Witcher's arms. He whispered something to Donnel who stared at him before nodding and holding up his sword.

Then the kid charged at directly at him.

Raising a brow Edward cast a minor force of wind, pushing him back a few steps. The kid seems unfazed as he expected it, yet he tries to charge again.

"Brute force?" He asks as he casts a stronger force, this time knocking the kid on his back. "Head on charge? Come on, you should know that I out match you in range. Can't just charge in and get hit by my winds. Also nice try Donnel..."

He glances to the side right as he brought his hand up and casts at...nothing.

"Huh, you actually fell for it..."

He instinctively ducks as a rock flies past him, he rolls to the side as another comes at him.

"Rocks...really?" He asks as he stood up and looked at the kid. "Also you told Donnel to stay back?"

"Pretty much," The kid held another rock he picked up. "Can't get to close without getting hit by the winds. So next best thing..."

Once more on instinct, Edward jumps to the side, avoiding a strike from his apprentice. He jumps back once more before casting a force of wind to launch himself several feet away.

"Divide my attention..." He says as the two stood next each other. "Then make a bluff, tried to hit me with range attacks than have Donny strike from behind. Not a bad plan...simple."

"No..." Leon shook his head. "I actually didn't plan this to happen. I just told Donnel to stay back and attack when he sees a chance. Right, Donny?"

"Yea..." Donnel nodded his head before adjusting his headgear. "I saw your back turn...to me, thought I had a chance."

"Hm," Edward held up his arms, slowly green orbs of air formed from his hands and began to swirl around him. "Alright, guess I went too easy on you. How about this..."

Within seconds the green orbs of air started to become hotter then it ignites into flames. Around him were swirling balls of fire.

While no where near as strong as Nai in terms of magic, he could do similar tricks and techniques she can but at a weaker variation. As Nai is best out of all of them when it comes to magic...

"Well...shit." Leon states as next to him Donnel's eyes grew wide. "Of course you'd know fire magic...this is going to hurt..."

"Don't worry," The Witcher says as the orbs of fire danced around him. "These little orbs of Igni won't harm you, while really hot they don't burn. But they'll hurt like hell..."

"Great, they certainly sound appealing..." The kid sarcastically mutters as he reversed grip his wooden blade.

He casts the fireballs toward them, and Leon pushed Donnel to the side as some of the fireballs made contact with the kid. Knocking him down on his side...

"Ow..." He groaned as he stood up and rubbed his neck. "That really hurts...dammit..."

Edward rose an eyebrow.

'Did he just push Donnel away and purposely took the hits?' He thought as another set of fireballs started forming around him. 'What's he doing? Even by reckless and stupid standards that's just weird.'

"Donny, what we talked about last time!" The kid yells as this time he barely dodges the next barrage of fireballs. "You remember it right!?"

The Witcher narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Donnel. He was confused at what Leon had said, something was off.

"Huh?" Was all that Donny could say before nodding. "Yea!"

"We're doing it now!"

With that, Leon charges directly at him with Donnel not far behind. He throw the sword directly at the Witcher.

Edward reacted by releasing a stream of flames, the force of the stream knocked the sword to the side. As well as bathes the kid in flames and pushed him down on the ground. Not wanting to possibly burn him, the Witcher cuts off the flames.

In time to see his apprentice coming at him with his wooden blade, aiming directly for his chest.

On instinct he wills his mana to conjure a blast of wind, it pushes his apprentice back and land on the ground.

"What...the hell was that?" He asks his visible mana dispelled, narrowing his eyes.

"Dammit...that actually hurt like hell..." Leon mutters as he groans in pain, he slowly tries and fails to sit up. "But it almost worked..."

"Almost worked? You've really could've gotten hurt..." He sighed as he crossed his arms. "Okay, what was your idea this time?"

"I distract while Donnel goes in for the kil-hit...we talked practicing something like that..." The kid muttered as he rubbed his forehead. "Honestly didn't think it through...which reminds me...Donny you alright?"

"Yea," Donnel looked better off as he rose unsteadily. "Wow, your really strong, sir!"

"Didn't really do much..." The Witcher muttered as his eyebrow twitched. "And didn't I say to not call me sir? Anyway, Leon can you move at all?"

"...Can't sit up...body really hurts..."

"Overdid it with the flames..." Edward shrugged. "You should be fine after a couple of hours...Donny you rest as well. Stay together, while I go see where Marth ran off to. That girl is taking long with her scouting..."

'That was weird, he wasn't that reckless when he and Donny took down that bandit leader, he actually cared for his well being and Donny's.' He thought as he turned and moved in the direction the princess went in. 'Something's wrong. Need to talk with Lucina, if he starts to do worse things than this...then he'll be a bad influence on Donnel. Can't have that...need to shut it down before it starts.'

* * *

"Hmm..." Nai hummed as she looked at the paper in her hand. 'Seems the Shepard's reached the village, but Donnel and Edward didn't join.'

'Guess she understood something after all,' She thought as she placed the paper down. 'That or the Witcher is following her around as an annoyance. Either way, a chance to earn her trust and loyalty was established. Only time will tell if it pays off...as I went against everything we had planned. All for feeling sorry for the child...more than that actually.'

She sighed as she leaned back in her chair, staring up at the ceiling. 'Not the first time I went against them, but they are getting tired of it. It'll pay off...that I am sure of...if not then I just fated our deaths.'

Lowering her head, she narrows her eyes and scans the room in front of her. Nothing but silence and her stacks of tomes and books that were collected over the course of five years. Wasn't easy, and at times...less than legal methods were needed to obtain them. But overall, worth the risk to understand this world and gain an advantage to what is to come...

Even if half the material is filled with ignorant foolish ideals and propaganda. It annoyed her a bit of how parts of this world reminded her so much of home...

Waiting for a guest can be boring, but necessary as this particular one has a role to play in the future. As well as being a major risk...

At the corners in the shadows she sees something shift, making her smirk.

"If a king doesn't lead," She starts to say as she placed her hands together.

"How can he expect his subordinates to follow?" A young man steps out of the shadows and into her field of vision.

"The power of kings..."

"...brings one solitude."

"Heh. I destroy the world..."

"...And create it anew. From Zero." The young man steps forward revealing himself, dressed in a somewhat dirty roguish outfit. With hair almost that of an orange color, and dark green eyes.

'So this is Gaius,' Nai smirked as she crossed her arms. 'Less...disappointing...than I thought he'd be...good.'

"I admit," The Scribe Enchanter slowly says after a second. "I did not expect you to actually use the code phrases. But I'm not surprised by you ability to enter unnoticed, apologies if I troubled you in anyway."

"Not the first time someone asked me to demonstrate," The thief says as he stared at her, eyes analyzing the sight in front of him. "And for code phrases, what were those anyway?"

"References to a story of a man who brought an end to his world for his sister." She smiled at the memories. "A good story and lesson to those that read it...but I digress, you are curious to what job I'm offering?"

The thief nodded as he crossed his arms.

"Then I'll skip past most of the dancing of clever words and simply say this," Nai smirked as she narrowed her eyes. "We need you for a job, but not one in a traditional sense. So I must present the potential rewards first...other than coin."

Slowly she pulls out something from her robe and tosses it Gaius. The young man catches it and rose an eyebrow when he looks at it.

"That object in your hands is a type of smoke bomb." The Scribe Enchanter crossed her arms. "Unlike those very rare, hard to find ones within these lands, this type is easier to manufacture and use. While still having dense smoke and even capable of different colors. Handy for a thief who has uses for it."

"Hm," Gaius stares at the bomb. "What's this got to do with the job?"

"Not truly involved with it unless you decided to use it," She waved it off as she smirked again. "But that is just a taste of what can be provided, but I digress. We need you for a simple job..."

"I want you to provide the skills needed in your profession," She slowly says as her face becomes serious. "And pass down some of those skills to one of own. As well as other jobs if need be, in return we'll provide the tools meant for a master of your craft. There are other things than that smoke bomb, and if you desire for something crafted or enchanted then we'll provide what's needed. As well as access to an Anna merchant to sell any goods you may have...acquired in jobs."

"You...want me to be a teacher?"

"I understand if you hold any skepticism or miss trust," She narrowed her eyes. "One will not survive this line of work if they believed _everything_ that is said. But what I speak is true, and from my sources...one such as yourself holds potential to teach well. And the one that is in need of these skills is eager as well as a good student."

"Let me introduce her..." Nai willed her mana into her fingers and visible green air danced upon them. Ignoring what ever Gaius' reaction is, she casts at a suspicious curtain that was between two bookshelves. It was suspicious since she never used a curtain in that general area.

"AH!" The curtain blasts back revealing a familiar young girl holding her sketching tools.

"Not hard to see you since you were so obvious..." Nai slowly says as she lowered her hand. "Did you really think you could hide that plainly?"

"Well..." Suki blushed as she rubbed the back of her head, her book and tools slipped out of her hand. "Ah! I thought I'd get a good look at who you were hiring to teach me..."

"And thus embarrass yourself in the process," The Scribe Enchanter looked at their guest. Who seemed understandably confused. "Oh, pardon the interruption, this is Suki the one we want you to teach. Suki introduce yourself..."

"Oh," The young girl fumbles with her stuff before doing a hasty bow. "H-hello, my name is Suki Rose, pleased to meet you!"

"This young gentleman's name is Gaius, what can you tell me about him at a glance?"

"Hmm," With one hand she places a finger against her cheek. "Well, stance is calm yet defensive, has multiple visible sweets even one in his mouth, likely a sugar addict. And has hidden stashes on his person, some are a bit visible. As well as lock picks or a secondary weapon to act as one. Cheap Iron sword, a likely last resort, unsure of fighting style but likely uses one that relies on a heavily amount of agility and skill. Oh, explains the light armor, intended to move fast and avoid fights if need be, hence his profession...and-"

"Thank you Suki, I believe he gets the point," The crimson haired woman says as she didn't want this to drag out. "As you can see, she has a basic talent of analyzing someone or their equipment...and is the one that forged that smoke bomb your still holding."

"Oh, that one of my fist generations!" Suki says as she beamed. "It was difficult with the chemical combinations...but I was able to get it right with some help. I'm trying to come up with a way to make it smaller to the size of pellets, without sacrificing the amount of smoke that comes out. But that's difficult as the thing that comes close relies too much on magic, and that is not a reliable resource."

"As not every one can enchant..." Nai sums up before leaning against her palm. "Still while she is young, her creations are remarkable and will be plenty of use to you, should you accept the job."

"I can make what ever you need for a job!" Suki nodded as she beamed. "If you need stronger lock picks, or even a weapon or tools for infiltration just talk to me and we'll make something useful!"

The thief stared at her wide eyed, he was looking at something that was sticking out of her pocket. Something that looked like it was about to fall out...

"Huh," Suki seemingly realizing where he was looking, pulls out the object. "It's a Rosanne style chocolate bar, Anna saved me one, was going to eat it later. Do you want some? You can have it, I have plenty of sweets-"

In blur of orange, the bar is snatched away from her fingers and the thief reappears with it in his hand.

"I'll take the job!" He says as he takes a large bite of the chocolate bar.

"Well..." Nai could only blink. "Then we have your teacher Suki, please show him around, and the room he'll be staying in. As no doubt it'll take more than a day for you to learn everything..."

"Right!" The now proclaimed student of the thief nodded. "Please follow me, there's a lot to show you!"

As the two turned and leave, Suki looked back her for a second. She winks at Nai before turning to lead Gaius away.

"Heh," Nai lightly chuckled as she the door closed, leaving her alone. 'Exploiting his love for sweets, by _'conveniently'_ having a delicious bar of chocolate on you. And likely will ask me to make sweets to further ensure his loyalty and loosen his lips for stories of previous jobs. Clever and not so innocent Suki, well done. Your _sister_ will be proud...if she doesn't threaten our thief first...'

'But what matters is that Gaius has been hired, we'll need him for that soon to come event.' She thought as she laid back on her chair. 'A major risk concerning the events but if we do this right then we gain an advantage. With a capable thief, we'll have better access to underworld contacts and Suki will gain greater skills needed for her weapons. This is a troublesome path we're walking on...no doubt Jon would be against this...changing too many events will come back to bite us...or worse. I know that well enough...'

'We cannot risk for everything to be altered too much,' She closed her eyes. 'We have no choice but let certain key events play out as they are, but everything else can be fair game within reason. Besides we need every ally and resource we can get...that dragon and it's damnable cult won't make it easy for us. Besides...having a true thief...'

"Means that we might finally get some answers for origins of our name as Outrealmers..." She slowly says as a devious smirk crept on her lips. "From Ylisse's grand library...in the Exalt's castle. And we know of the best time to try to gain it..."

There was so much to be done and little time to prepare...

* * *

"Hm, so this is what she was doing..." Edward wondered out loud, leaning against a tree as he watched the princess. "Interesting..."

He was watching the princess helping some villagers within a village, it looked like that she helped bring them lunch and dinner. He was wondering how she managed to get a deer with a sword...sure it's a 'holy' sword but it still was a sword.

'On a mission to save her father and future, yet still takes time to help others.' He narrowed his eyes. 'Tis a heroic princess alright...'

He sighed as he crossed his arms, the villagers were thanking her and the time child merely nodded. One of them, possibly the elder, walked up to her and handed her a small bag. From his view point, it looked like she refused at first but as predictable as it is the elder insisted and she accepted.

Really predictable...either it was coin or something of value. Villagers often pay one of those...unless some try to skim on payment.

'I'll wait for her here,' He narrowed his eyes. 'She's likely noticed me by now...'

Just as he thought that, Lucina looked to the side in general direction he was in. He made sure to stick out a little bit to make sure she doesn't miss him by chance.

Likely saying her farewells, she leaves the village and heads for him.

After a short time she stops right in front of him.

"So this is where you were..." He says as she tilted her head. "Somehow not surprised, not going to ask what you did for them as that's not my business. However, we need to talk, it concerns your companion."

She doesn't say anything, but seems to be listening.

"Sparred with him and Donnel, to sum it it up both are in need of help to learn what is needed." He slowly says. "But your companion did some reckless things, things that may not seem much now. But over time it can become a dangerous habit, and deadly."

"...What did he do?" There was hint of annoyance in her question.

"Nothing major, just took some hits when he knew he could dodge." He shook his head. "All to try to gain an advantage to try to win. Not like how I saw them fight that bandit leader..."

"Wait, you watched them-"

"Kill that piece of filth Roddick? Yes." Edward felt a subtle glare from her. "They didn't need help, had it more or less handled. Would've step in if it really was dangerous. But as I was saying, the two worked together to cripple then take the bastard down. I didn't see anything like that when we were sparing...something was different. And wrong..."

"I'll skip the details of what I think and tell you this Marth." He narrowed his eyes. "If you in anyway have an ounce of care. You might want to figure out what is wrong and deal with it. As he is the one loyally following _you_ for whatever reason, otherwise he might not make it that far in these lands. I can't have that interfere with my apprentice's training, and I rather not get involved but if he continues doing this...interpret it how you will."

"...I understand." She slowly says as he saw one of her hands subtly twitch. "I'll...talk with him."

"Just don't try to force it out of him," He advised as she tilted her head again. "Never works out well that way, could lead to some unnecessary drama. So word of advise, try to do a more social approach...but that's up to you. As long as your not openly hostile it should work, but that's how I see it. As said before won't get involved...unless he continues far enough on his actions."

"I'll leave you to think on that, the other two are resting. You should head back to them..." He moved past her. "Going to ask if any of the local villages need any assistance. Have my job to do after all..."

With that he slowly walks to the village, hopefully his words would nudge the princess to take some form of action. He truly doesn't want to be involved with that, but since Donny could potentially be put at risk. He'll watch for now, but if the new blood does something foolish then words and possibly fists would be exchange.

'She better do something soon,' He thought as the villagers seem to notice him approaching. 'Otherwise the kid would really feel hell...just like how that bastard dealt with me. Especially when I acted stupid and risked both for our lives...'

He silently chuckled to himself at the memory before approaching the village elder.

* * *

"Oi, think he's here!?"

"Quiet! The bastard'll hear us!"

Nedarix watched from above as the two bandits were looking around. He leaned against the tree as he balanced on the branch.

It still surprises him that not many people bother to look at what's above them.

"Shite, the hell is he?" One bandit says as he voice was filled with fear. He was holding an axe, he was desperately looking around for his target.

"Don't know, but we should go..." The other, holding a makeshift shield and spear. "After what that bastard did to boss...not good to face him."

"He killed Lars and Rev!" The first yells. "Killed them in cold blood, he fucking enjoyed it!"

"I know, but we'll end up like them if we stay here." The other did he's best not to yell. "We've got to find the others and bring them here safer in numbers. Else Rev and Lars would die in vain..."

"Damn...fine but I want his head..."

"You'll get your chance...you'll get your chance..."

Unfortunately the bandits wouldn't be doing either, as they had stepped into his trap.

Nedarix silently rolled his eyes as he rose his hand, silent purple sparks danced on his finger tips. He raises three fingers then brought down his index with his thumb.

He wills his mana and three purple runic circles appear. Two on trees adjacent to the bandits and one at their feet.

"What..." Before they could say anything, two purple hooks are shot through the runic circle from their feet and into their ankles.

Both screamed as blood seeped from their boots, one gets on his knees while the other tried to break the hook with his weapon. It didn't matter as two more hooks with chains sprung out from the runes adjacent to them.

Both pierce the bandits, one through the chest killing the bandit instantly the other through his shoulder.

Willing his mana, Nedarix brought down his middle finger, and the chained bandit started to rise. The runic circle that held him slowly ascended the tree, until it matched the height he was in.

"It seems that I still need more practice..." He says as the bandit screamed in pain. "Aim is less than perfect, have to adjust as I cast. Hooks and chains are solid and no longer transparent so they can pierce skin and bone. Not bad but not enough for what I need..."

"Caw!" A familiar crow flies in and lands on his shoulder. It cawed at him once before pecking his cheek.

"Of course, what _we_ need..." He said as he brought down his two other fingers. "We're finished here..."

The sounds of screams and bones being ripped apart echoed across the forest. No doubt casting fear to those that may of heard it.

"Need to find a way to place the runes rabidly." He crossed his arms. "Took me an hour to place those three, not enough time and the chains and hook are likely not strong enough. Have to do weight testing, and so much more."

"Caw!"

"Of course it would go faster if you'd help in someway. Though I may have an idea..."

"Caw!"

"We should move..." He climbs down from the tree, the runic circles dispel and what left of the bandit falls to the ground with a thud. "There are more nearby, and I do need payment from the bounty. Enchanted object costs are annoying...but necessary."

The crow cawed once more before flying off his shoulder as he touched the ground.

* * *

**A/N: I'll be honest and say that took longer than it should've. But a combination of writer's block and school work prevented me from releasing this sooner. Apologies for the long wait and the short chapter.**

**Of course if anyone here is reading my second story, that one is going to be updated next. Going to try to do an order to this...at least when I can...Writer's Block is rather difficult to deal with. Which is problem since things are gonna start to roll...have to execute it right.**

**Anyway, read, review, or look or make a better story. So much more out there...**

**-Raiden312**

* * *

**Randomanimelover13: Well...Leon isn't looking forward to that, that much I can say.**

**Victory3114: Well if it was told like a campfire story, then Edward would have lied about of lot of things. And change the story...so it was better to tell it that way, that way the truth is there in the web of lies. Though Edward definitely may regret for the actions he chose...**

**Hopefully Leon does improve...but he still has a long way to go, and not much time left. **

**RoseWarden: Edward is not a 'true' Witcher, he may have magic and know how to hunt monsters he doesn't have the genetic/magic enhancements. Should have made that clear, apologies for any confusion.**

**Technically yes it does mess up the timeline a bit, as Donnel is part of the Shepherds. But some of the outrealmers have different plans...while others have their own. They tend conflict with each other, but that's all I can say about this...**

**Heh, that is true...hopefully Leon get's that through his head soon...**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem, as it belong to it's respected owners.**

* * *

"And that ends that chapter..." I say as I close the book. "At least for today Donny..."

"Aw, but I want to know what happens..." Donnel narrowed his eyes. "Naofumi didn't do it!"

"Not surprised he was set up," Edward crossed his arms. "Something did seem a bit odd, as that _woman_ was too nice. Didn't think she'd be the spawn of that fool though."

Lucina said nothing as she stared at the two. She hasn't said anything, cause I already read her part of the story first. She did display some dislike for what happened to the Shield Hero, as well as disapproval for his future actions. Yet she seemed keen to know more about the story.

Just hope it doesn't get too dark...rather not be at the receiving end of the disapproval.

In case you hadn't figured it out, I'm reading the book Suki gave me to Donnel and Edward. Donny saw me reading it when we on break, and I just started talking to him about it. Somewhere along the line Edward joined in and I just decided to read it to them from the beginning.

From what it looks like they kinda enjoying it...Donnel is easy to read, he has very interested look. While Edward...he some looked bored yet somehow entertained...that makes no sense at all.

Still only managed to get a little bit into it, read a bit more with Lucina, and further ahead on my own. Still have some way to go, but have to pace myself or I'll finish reading this in a day.

If I do that then I'll be bored as hell...

"Well that's a good enough break," Edward voice brings me back. "Now then Marth, thank you for allowing this detour. It's likely work for me or an exaggerated tale of villagers. From experience it's both yet none..."

"What exactly is this...job?" Lucina asked as she likely narrowed her eyes. Damn mask...

"Supposedly the village we're heading to is having trouble with a monster," He begins to explain. "Only that this monster is yet to be seen, but evidence for it exists."

"Evidence?" I rose an eyebrow.

"The bodies left over...at least what was left of them." He bluntly says as he shook his head. "The village elder didn't know the extent of injuries or anything else to go on. Other than stories and rumors, yet it warrants enough for me to investigate. If it is a monster than I'll do my job, if not then I'll apologize for wasting your time."

"What kind of monsters does this world have anyway?" I muttered, then shrink a little when all three look at me.

Said it too loud didn't I...

"Lot of them," Edward muttered as he sighed. "Different varieties, some are very similar to beasts back home. Are you familiar with the Crocodile, what some would call river dragons? Had to fight a couple like them one time with a friend, damn things are fast and have a strong bite. Enough to break a leg in half, hate that damn desert."

"Crocodile, River...Dragon?" Lucina tilted her head at the names. "Your homeland has Dragons?"

"Dragons!?" Donny looked at his teacher in a surprised expression.

"Not true dragons," I quickly say before thoughts of a pet dragon could rise. "Only in name, they're just giant reptiles, very old, very strong and awesome giant reptiles. But reptiles none the less...that can swim really well and stay hidden in the water till it snaps at ya."

"And yet the ones here can potentially grow twice as big, then ones back home." The 'Witcher' sighed once more. "Are very dangerous if not taken seriously, and should be left for the professionals. As well as deserve some respect...their species lived for millennia."

"That aside," He slowly gets up and moves to his horse. "We should get going, Donny it's your turn to ride Emi. She's starting to get a bit used to you. Which is progress."

Lucina looked at me for a second then motioned for me get ready.

So we're going on a monster hunt? Great...I'll likely stay back before I'm on the next menu...

Still useless...

* * *

"So this is the place?" Leon asked as he rubbed the back of his head. "Huh...not a bad place."

Edward narrowed his eyes as he looked at the surroundings.

As expected from a village from this area, there was river with the village right next to it with forest surrounding it. Pretty much a generic village, not many buildings but plenty of people.

"Simple. Donnel and I will go on ahead," The Witcher says as moves to Emi's saddle bags, pulls out and holsters his steel blade. "If we're not back within the hour that means we've got work. There might be other work for you two to do, could use the extra coin. Wouldn't hurt to ask..."

"So stay out your way?" The so called 'Tactician in training' sums up. "...Marth we may need the extra funds incase for supplies...or a future room in an Inn."

"...Very well." The future princess nodded after a second before looking at the Witcher. "Find us if you need assistance..."

"Alright, Donny slide off Emi, we're going on foot. Bring your sickle..."

Several minutes later he found the village elder and was invited to his house.

"You were asking for me, what can I do for you young man?" The Elder asked as he took a seat. He looked at the Witcher's necklace for a second then put his hands together.

"Thank you for your time," Edward sat down as well. "I am here on matters of my profession."

Donnel just stared awkwardly as there were only two seats.

"Profession? Are you some kind of mercenary?"

"No, I am someone that hunts and gets rid of monsters." He crossed his arms. "And I heard from a neighboring village that you might have something to worry about."

"I apologize...there is nothing worrisome here anymore, just a troublesome matter that was already taken care of."

"Troublesome matter?" He rose a brow. "What do you mean and it's already over with?"

"Oh, you see there was a monster here." The Elder began. "But someone came by a week ago and slain the beast. Was a rather rude person but did the job and accepted the payment."

"Oh, and what was the monster?"

"An Echo Screech, of all things! One had settled in a nearby cave, it killed those that entered it. Then dumped the bodies in the river after it was done feeding, it terrorized us for an entire week. Until that...I don't remember the name...oh...that _Witcher_ came by and offered to slay it. A day later the head of the creature was brought before me. Was a rather quiet yet rude person, and was dressed rather strangely."

"An Echo Screech?" Donnel asked out loud, look rather confused.

"Think of it as a giant bat that likes to eat a large number of small animals or the occasional human. Very rare, mostly stay in the caves they settle in." Edward quickly explained. "I hear fighting one can be difficult, as they can sense or rather hear your heartbeat. What did this person look like? Can't be a run of the mill mercenary."

"It's difficult to recall, but I remember two distinct details." The elder pointed at the Witcher's necklace. "I remember seeing that on the Witcher's person. As well as a mask, it looked to be that of a wolf I believe."

"This necklace?" Edward held out his snarling wolf shaped necklace. "And a wolf like mask? Apologies, but I must ask, was there anything else distinct. Such as the gender of said person perhaps?"

"I cannot recall or rather I couldn't tell, whenever this person spoke. The voice was indistinguishable from a man or woman's. It was strange, but this person did a service for us so I did not ask."

'Wolf mask, has the school of wolf medallion,' Edward thought as he let go of his necklace. 'And when speaking couldn't tell what gender...just like Shiro with that veil of her's. This person must be doing the same thing with the mask...but who? Copycat is possible but unlikely, an actual Witcher is impossible, what if it's another Outrealmer? Need evidence, whatever the possibility I need to find evidence.'

"Thank you for your time," He says as starts to get up. "May I ask where this cave is?"

"Yes, it is up the river, you'll eventually find it."

"Thank you, come on Donnel."

"Um...there's more like you?" Donnel asked as they stepped out of the house. "I thought you said you were the only one..."

"Donny, I'll make this very clear." He looked at his student. "I am _technically_ the only _'Witcher'_ in existence in this world. As I told you days before, the original order died out many a millennia ago. I'm not a true Witcher by any means but I follow similar teachings. I do not know who this supposed Witcher is, if by chance it's one of similar background to mine..."

'But what chance is it being a Outrealmer?' He asked himself then shook his head. "That doesn't really matter at the moment. Right now we'll check this cave, it's an opportunity, for you to hone one of the many skills a Witcher needs."

"What?"

"Tracking. See if you can find the cave, I'll stay back and watch. Remember the Elder's words and check the surrounding environment for clues."

"...Right."

* * *

"...Again."

"Okay..." I slowly lifted the axe over my head, then bring it down as hard as possible.

Was barely able to split the log in half...okay more like chip at the center until I actually manage to cut it.

"...Again. You still have ten more to cut." Lucina says as she placed another log on the block. "I am already finished with my quota."

"Cause you have a really sharp sword..." I muttered as I rise the axe again then struck the log. It bounced off of it causing the log to drop. "This axe is obviously dull, can I please use your sword? Or mine at least? It's a bit difficult to cut a log if I can only chip at it."

"No..." She set the log straight for me, then crossed her arms. "This is...a way for you to train."

"By increasing my strength, aim or tolerance for dull weapons?"

"...Yes..."

Did she just...never mind, rather retain sanity then think of a princess with a comedic deficiency somehow just trolled me. Is this pay back for something I've done, or will do to annoy the future princess?

...Lucina and I had accepted a job of cutting wood for some of the villagers. It was either that or possibly play twenty questions with each other, or take of temptation of reading the only book, other than the tactician ones, then fall to boredom later.

Either way time would pass while we wait for Edward and Donnel to finish whatever they are doing. Then set out for the next destination...where ever that is...

At least we're alone, the other villagers are busy doing whatever business they have. So we're more or less in private, unless someone turns a corner or listens in from a building.

"You've stopped..."

Huh?

"Oh, sorry..." I raise the axe and manage to split the wood almost properly...almost. "Was in thought..."

"About what?"

"Well..." Another thought comes to mind. "I am rather curious why you let Edward follow us around..."

She tilted her head a little bit. "What...do you mean?"

"A couple things I've noticed the past few days..." I slowly start. "You've been distant, a lot more then usual. And the stares you give Edward when you seem to think no one's looking. Not...hostile from what I can tell. Plus, I know that he said he'd follow us, but you made no real attempts to dissuade him or even attempt to ditch him. Um...so yeah...I just noticed...that."

"You just noticed..."

"B-before you say anything," I start getting defensive, slightly worried about her getting a bit mad. "I'm training to be a tactician remember? I'm sort of...supposed to see little details..." Translation, it was really obvious to see what she was doing. Experience from her glares made me somehow to sense them...ish. Maybe it's the fear of being stabbed by her...which is really strong.

My chest burned a bit when I partially thought about that nightmare...feels so long ago.

She stayed silent as I put the axe down.

...Not like she's going to answer...still have a long way for her to even trust me with her secrets. Even though I know some of them...

"Well...your reasons are your own I suppose," I rubbed the back of my neck. "Okay, I need to do eight more?"

"...Nine."

"How much are we getting paid for this?" I raise the axe and finally split the log in half.

"Twenty silver, but does that matter?"

"No just wondering, plus can't fully read common yet." Even though I have been practicing, I mix up some of the words and letters. "I barely managed to read the notice board."

Still odd that we speak the same language yet the commonly written tongue is something related to Japanese Kanji. Why do I get the feeling that things like this will often occur? Also what is the written language in Say'ri's home country? Would it be Latin or something, maybe old English?

Wait...what was the name of the Say'ri's county again?

I think it was...um, Hoshido? No that can't be right...oh, it was Chon'sin! Chon'sin is the name of Say'ri's country...then that bastard Walmar-I mean Walhart invades and rules by proxy. By using her brother...rather tragic story with those two...poor Yen'fay.

Also, how the heck did I confuse Chon'sin with Hoshido? Also what the heck is Hoshido? I don't think I've heard of that word before...meh must've been a random thing.

"You...can't read common?"

"Yeah, kinda obvious since I'm not from here." I slowly pick up a log and place it straight. "Been learning it bit by bit, but I'm pretty sure a kid knows better than me." Like Donnel...maybe he can help me, I know he does know how to read...from that one support Maribelle.

"...I can help with that."

"Huh? Teaching me the language?" And possibly finding the 'codex' I keep hidden on me...damn stuck between a chance to further gain trust but be potentially discovered and gain distrust then be discovered and stabbed multiple times.

...Damn it...

"Sure then," I shrugged before bringing the axe down on the log, splitting it just a little. "Just go a bit easy on me please. Not like I can learn a language in a day or two." At least with this, she won't kick me with those deadly legs of her's...she doesn't hold back much when we spar.

If she wants me to write the language in the journal then I should place the 'codex' someplace safe. But where? I might damage or lose it in my pockets...need to figure it out later.

"Okay...seven more to go." I split the log. "Want to listen to a story or something to pass the time?" Rather not get bored...plus it has been awhile.

She nodded as she sets another log, then silently waited for me to say something.

Well...I could bribe her to finish the work while I tell her something...nah, she'd just stab me.

"Hm...guess I can continue on from the tales of team RWBY." I start as I bring down the axe. "Where was I..." I did finish the trailer-

"...Around the part where the robbery was being thwarted by Ruby Rose." She says after a second, as she placed her hand against her chest.

"...Oh, right." I say despite remembering that I didn't get that far yet. How did she...no best not to think of it right now.

"Well then, as you mentioned Ruby was thwarting a robbery. And not just any robbery, it was one lead by a infamous man known as Roman Torchwick..."

* * *

"It's right here!" Donnel pointed at the now visible cave.

"Good work Donny, a bit faster then I thought." Edward says as he drew his steel blade. "Now take out your sickle and stay behind me. Scavengers might be around...and not friendly ones."

"Right..." The purplette drew his sickle and went behind him. "Ready."

Slowly Edward made his way to the cave, stepping over rocks and entering the darkened area. Nothing but darkness ahead of him, perfect for something that relies on sound.

With a snap of fingers his hand becomes engulfed in flames, illuminating the area. The flames turned into a fireball then slowly flew off of his hand. Giving light and freeing his hand for use.

"Damn..." Was the first thing he said as the fireball light revealed a couple of bodies. Charred and burnt bodies to be exact...with deep gashes and missing limbs.

"Wha...happened here?" Donnel asked as he looked at the bodies, then at the ground. "All of them are burned...a fire?"

"Looks like it..." The Witcher says as he kneels to get a better look. "This 'Witcher' knew what to do, burned the bodies to prevent the chance of disease as well as a way to give them some peace. Need to find the Echo Screech..."

"Why?"

"Oh right, didn't tell you fully at the elder's place," He starts to say as he stood up. "As I said before, Echo Screeches are very dangerous but thankfully rare. It emits an echo, then screeches when it senses something edible or when it attacks. Hence the simplistic name...the screech can cause fear in it's victims ears, really though it can be loud enough to make them bleed. Not enough to kill but can stun you for a bit..."

"Those things are very difficult to fight," He glances around. "They can literally hear you coming, strong, capable of flight and very sharp claws. Standard beast that can be dangerous when not respected. You'll be sort of fine if you constantly move and have a lot of light. And fire, they don't take to fire very well. So if this so called 'Witcher' fought it alone..."

'How did this person kill it?' He notices something large and slowly approached it. "...Looks like it's here."

"At least, what's left of it..." Edward pokes the burnt monster corpse of the Echo Screech with the end of his blade. "Burned, deeps cuts on wings and body. Head is missing, either the final blow or after death. There's a smell...barely noticeable. Donny you smell this?"

"...Yea...it doesn't smell bad but burnt...never smelled anything-"

"Smell isn't just me then, strange." He crouched in front of the beast. "Hang on, there's something in one of it's ribs. It looks like it's one of the sources of the burns."

He places his blade down and reached for the object. With strong yank and muffled sound of disgust from Donnel, he pulls out the object.

"A...crossbow bolt?" He glanced at the bolt, it was well made, and one thing struck him as interesting. "The hell..."

It was a silver bolt, something that he once tried to get Suki to make and have Nai enchant. But couldn't due to financial problems so he was forced to use steel bolts that are not enchanted.

"What is it?" Donny asked as he looked at the bolt. "Whoa, is that..."

"Similar to my crossbow's," He states as he flicked the blood off the bolt. "Except that this is definitely better than mine."

'This is rather unexpected...just who would have access to this?' He thought as he puts the bolt away intending to wash and get a better look at it later. 'Maybe I should visit Suki later for better analysis. This mysterious masked Witcher is something to look into, but priority right now is getting Donny ready. It's a matter of time for Ylisse and Plegea to go to war. Plenty of work to do when that happens...unfortunately.'

Donnel nodded as he motioned the Witcher to follow.

"There's nothing else for us here," He looked at his apprentice. "We're heading back, think you can lead us back with out getting lost? One of the basic skills is to be able to retrace one's steps."

'Need to train him more, and get him better equipped. Maybe I should pay Suki a visit, but she'll be busy enough with what Jon's planning. She'll need to focus.' He narrowed his eyes. 'Gonna have to use second rate equipment. Suki will be upset when she hears that...'

It was just another day living in this rather strange world.

* * *

"Hmm..." Suki stared hard at the blueprints she was making. "No, that wouldn't work, high chance of accidental stabbing. Main function is good, but storage is a problem."

She lightly taps her chin before snapping her fingers. "Oh, then instead of conventional storage, what about doing a set of safety measures? No that'd be too complicated, plus too many moving parts. Why couldn't power tools be invented...or at least a basic screwdriver? I miss those..."

"What'cha doing Sketch?" A familiar voice causes her to lean back and look up.

Gaius, their current guest, is looking curiously at what she was doing. Unsurprisingly he was munching on a chocolate bar, one of the ones he must've bought off Anna. Needless to say that the merchant is very happy with that...she now has a new 'favorite' customer. As well as source for things that aren't...'acquired' easily.

So far it seemed that the thief was warming up to them a little bit. He's already given everybody nicknames, hers being Sketch. As when they first met she was trying to sketch him. She actually showed him some of the drawings she made of him, ones that she's done before and after they officially met. Needless to say the thief rose a brow at how detailed it was and how long it took in the 'brief' time they've met.

Nai's is Scarlet, due to her tendency of wearing red, as well as her hair. Thankfully he hasn't seen her when she's a bit sleep deprived and angry...so much fire...

Moving on from that, Midori got the nickname of Trixie. Since her Onee-chan tends to be a mischievous. Anna got Goldie...for obvious reasons though personally Suki believed Coins would've worked as well.

"Oh, Gai-sensei." She smiles as she sees him subtly shiver, for some reason calling him that has that effect. "Was trying to work on a new blue print for you. But it's a bit difficult, I either sacrifice effectiveness for space, or availability of use for size. Either way something has to go, I could use magic but that'll be too heavily relied on, enchantments don't last forever."

The thief rose a brow before looking at the blueprint.

"Is this...some kind of wrist mounted strap for lockpicks? That somehow helps when picking a lock?" He asked he traced his fingers across the blueprint. "Huh, not half bad Sketch. But this ain't gonna work..."

"It's only filling half of it's potential," She mutters then shakes her head. "Plus it has too many mechanical parts, even if it's a couple. There's a chance of failure when being used, plus I don't know how much sound or contact with the strap it would make. It might be loud enough for guards to hear, or it'll rub against the strap or possibly your hand causing breakage."

She sighs as she twirled her feathered pen. "At this point it'll likely be easier for you to just strap a couple of lockpicks on your arm and call it a day. This one will be on hiatus for now...plus I need to work on your armor."

"You mean that light and strong stuff?" He asked as he took a bite from his bar. "Never saw armor like that before, but the boots you made were really good. Barely even felt them..."

"Cause it relies on an enchantment Nai-chan cooked up." She pouted as she lightly clenched her feathered pen. "It helps the user not make as much noise when moving, good for sneaking, and the armor is light but durable. Good enough to not take an arrow to the foot...still feel it when it hits though. But better then getting a hole through your Achilles tendon...then bleed out."

"Good to know...though that mask you included...it's rather weird Sketch."

"Oh, well that mask is mean't to hide your identity. Can't have your face seen when you work now can you?"

"I can get by without a mask Sketch, besides what was it designed for the face pl-"

"Visor."

"...Visor to open...on it's own somehow?" The thief rose an eyebrow. "What purpose would that-"

"That's a _secret~_" Suki snickered. "Only if you have something to protect or receive a certain kind of gift."

"...Okay..." Gai-sensei finally says after a second.

"Still, the rest of your armor won't be ready for sometime." She yawned as she twirled then placed her pen down. "Also wasn't Onee-chan looking for you? She said something about a spar...with her and Nai-chan."

"Don't tell them I was here...please." Was his response before he shivered. "There's no way I'm facing Scarlet and Trixie like that again, how the hell can they use magic like that anyway? Never seen anything like that before."

"Unfortunately that is above your pay grade." The two turn to see Jason walking up to them. "Of course that's if your ready for a couple of jobs then a promotion."

"Hello Jason." Suki greeted.

"Hey Pops," Gaius smirked as Jason's eyebrow twitched at the nickname. "How's it going?"

"Not that old dammit..." The merchant mutters before crossing his arms. "So this is where you ran off to? Good was looking for both you and Suki."

"What for?" Suki asked as she sat up. "Something important?"

"Well..." He smirked. "It's something related to one of your projects...mainly the-"

"What is it!?" She eagerly asked. "Did you find the magic fan!? Or an actual enchantment that works when you sing!? Or even better the enchantment can be replicated!? That'll work so much for Olivia, Onee-chan, and Nai-chan! The three would finally be able to sing Rusty Key a-"

"Calm dow-"

"And Cherry Boloss-"

"Um, Sketch-"

"To The Sea-"

"Dammit...Suki-"

"Maybe Reddened Galaxy...but the tone may not fit Olivia..."

"Suki please!" Jason groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "Dammit-"

"Oh and lastly Ice World!" Suki beamed at the possibilities, it'll be possible for her to help those three and possibly be close to something she wanted to do for so long! It took her forever to properly remember and write the lyrics of those songs, and by goodness she'll finally hear it once again! Along with one that's close to her heart...

"It's just the supplies you needed for your weaponry. By Naga Suki you should wait till I finish..."

Then that thought shatters like a million pieces of...well...glass.

"Aww..." Suki pouted before shaking her head, forcing herself to become serious. "Well, it isn't what I want, but it's something I need. Is it everything on the list?"

"...Yes, wasn't easy though, do you know how hard it is to find materials normally meant for brave class weaponry? Even if it's a small amount?" The merchant groaned as he rubbed his forehead. "Bought enough to make a sword and knife. Anna isn't showing it, but she is a bit ticked about me spending so much of her-I mean '_our'_ gold. As well as use up a bunch of contacts that are her _sisters_...she probably owe favors to at least ten different Annas'. This better be worth it...Anna rarely forgets a favor I ask."

"Don't worry!" Giving a thumbs up she beams then winked. "With these I can finally make it work! Then I can finally help you guys to my maximum effectiveness!"

"Materials? Brave class weaponry?" Gaius finally speaks, reminding her that he was there. "What are you making Sketch?"

"Fufu~," She crossed her arms. "You'll see...oh, Gai-sensei, can you help Jason with the materials please and some other things? I'll still share some of the desert Nai-chan is making. Strawberry Cheesecake~"

"...Sure Sketch," He says after a second.

Suki just beamed, she wouldn't put it past the thief to wonder what the group is doing and who they are. Normally she would have taken the time to fully get to know the thief and actually develop a bond.

But they are really pressed for time, so all she can do is prepare while helping everyone else. She technically lied to Jason about the materials, while a tiny amount will definitely be used for her main weapon. The rest can be used for other projects she has in mind...so Jason's sacrifices and potential time of sleeping in the carriage will be worth it. But his wife wouldn't do that...unless he really does something...

As it'll help everyone survive, it's only a matter of time before the big event occurs and Jon's plan is kicked off. Then she'll make herself an asset among the Shepherds, as well as have access to much needed resources. Which will help everyone, as she has thought up some weaponry that can be used by the Shepherds.

Plus if Nai's plan works too...then they might be a step closer of learning why they are all here. But...what would happen if they even figure out anything?

What would be the point?

This is home...

* * *

"Are you ready Jon?"

"Yes Robin," Jon twirled his wooden sword. "When ever you are..."

The snow haired tactician nodded as she took a defensive stance. Her wooden sword was pointing away from him.

"Beat him up Robin!" Lissa's cheering reminded him that the princess was there, with Lon'qu fifteen away. As well as Stahl, Sully and likely Kellam somewhere next to them.

"You got this Jon, just like Teach taught ya!" Vaike yelled as he flashed that signature grin. "Show her what'cha made of!"

'How did this happen again?' The swordsman partially wondered as he let out a sigh.

...Robin had asked him to spar with her and Vaike over heard them. Then he brought everyone except for Chrom and Frederick, who were busy with something, to watch. Somehow it lead to Sully and Vaike to making bets on who would win...then Virion joined in, then Miriel likely out of curiosity. The other Shepherds followed forth like dominoes...some making bets while others were just watching for entertainment.

Likely cause he and Robin never had a proper spar until now...he's not bad of a swordsman but she's the tactician with incredible skill in sword and magic. So for them it's something that's likely entertaining...

Just another day as a member of the Shepherds...never boring.

"Damn it Vaike..." He muttered as he took an offensive stance. "Let's just get this over with..."

The violet eyed tactician smirked as her knees bend just a little. Suddenly she charges right at him, barely giving him a chance to dodge an incoming slash.

He inwardly cursed as he dodged once more, before parrying a blow. She was moving at him fast, not giving him an opening.

Rolling to the side he brings his sword up and is struck in the chest with her wooden blade.

"One point for me..." She smirked as she dodges a strike from him.

"And the point of keeping score?" He asked as he fakes strike and parries her counter.

"Performance in combat and in sparing can be different..." She jumps to the side and blocks a strike. "Yet it can display certain levels of skill...and patterns."

"Skills and patterns..." He dodges another strike before almost hitting her. "...You mean, the ability to predict an opponents move set based off fighting style?"

"Simply put yes," She jumps back as twirls her wooden sword. "You recognize the idea..."

"Yeah, Nai-a family member told me of such a thing a long time ago." He took a defensive stance. "Saved my life on several accounts..."

"Then you can guess where I'm going with this..." She slashes at him, he dodges then takes a step back.

"You're making sure that we don't become predictable," He tilted his head. "At least in a way so that we don't stick too much to what our classes are. Diversity...essential to survival of anything."

"Exactly what I was thinking." She smirked as she takes another offensive stance. "Plus it helps if you teammates know your strengths and weaknesses. Which is why you're all here..."

"Huh? Wait a second..." Vaike slowly says, looking a bit confused.

"Oh! Then that's why...you knew Vaike was there listening!" Lissa points to Robin. "You acted like he wasn't noticed! Even if it was really obvious!"

"'Discreetly' talking with Jon into having a private spar, that'd you and everyone else wanted to watch. Heh, I guessed you'd do something like this," Robin smirked as she casually shrugged. "Made it easier for everyone to gather and then help them. Apologies Vaike...but deception is a requirement among tacticians."

The princess giggled as Vaike frowned at the fact that he was tricked, but is likely thinking of payback...somehow.

"So what now? Just analyze everyone of us by fighting individually?" Jon asked as he lowered his wooden blade. "Unless you already thought further ahead didn't you."

"Correct, have a good number of you figured from experience in the field." She lowered her blade. "But Risen and Bandits are generally not too intelligent, I rather know you're prepared for the worst. So I'm doing something a bit different then the norm..."

"Oh?" Virion speaks up. "And what does thy fair lady propose?"

The other shepherds stayed quiet but looked curious as well.

"It's rather simple Virion..." Jon looked at the archer. "See who's compatible with who but on a more...deeper scale. See and understand the strengths and weaknesses of each Shepherd. Then pair them with the right person to increase strength while decreasing weaknesses, example being of Stahl and Miriel."

"Huh?" Stahl looked a bit surprised at being called at.

Miriel looked up from her notepad, she rose a brow but surprisingly did not say anything. Likely curious enough to hear his reasoning...then voice hers.

"Miriel is strong in magic as we all know," He explains. "Yet even with that, direct combat can sometimes be a bit troubling for her. Especially if it's multiple opponents at once...she can only do so many area of effect spells. Say if she was surrounded by multiple enemy knights for whatever reason and is low on mana. Unless for certain conditions she doesn't have many options."

"Correct in your hypothesis," Miriel states as she scribbles something into her pad. "It would be-"

"That's one of the factors," He continues before she could say anything further. "Plus speed and other things, now with Stahl. He's...completely average...which is a strength and a weakness both equal in itself. He is also limited to certain terrains due to his armor, horse, a number of other things. But as said before, his average ability can be a major strength in various situations. Too many to out right list..."

"Huh..." Stahl rubbed the back of his head. "Never thought about that."

"Now if added together..."

"Then Miriel's potential in combat increases in those scenarios," Robin states, taking reins in the conversation. "If Stahl and Miriel are able to work together then, defense against magic, physical attacks...a lot of possibilities! Exactly what I was thinking of, and this is just from one paring! Same could be said with Kellam and Lissa!"

"True," Jon nodded. "Kellam would be a good help to Lissa in combat, as he can heavily defend her and literally somehow not be seen coming. Um, Kellam your still next to Stahl right?"

"...Actually I'm over here." Kellam suddenly appears next to Lon'qu, nearly startling the Feroxian swordsman. Even though he barely showed any reaction. "I was here the whole time."

"Right, but same can be said for Lon'qu," Jon continues, earning the look from the swordsman. "He can defend Lissa while also simultaneously attacking on the frontlines when healing is needed. Then move quickly back when needed. Besides Sir Chrom enlisted him to defend her anyway."

"A lot of possibilities," Robin smiled as she placed a hand against her chin. "Plus it'll also help them in unexpected conditions if they are forced to pair with those that...aren't as available."

"And..." He was about add something when he realized that's he acting a bit out of character. His cover wasn't supposed to know that much, just bare essentials, he's going to have to wing when they question it. That or...no he couldn't risk doing that.

"Anyway," He slowly shook his head as he looked at his fellow Shepherds then to the tactician. "It seems the spar is called off, good luck next time."

"Yes, it seems the mood for it is gone..."

"Escort?" He offered as he ignored whatever reactions his fellow comrades made.

The violet eyed woman nodded as the two walked away from the others. Leaving the wooden swords on the ground for who ever decides to pick them up.

"So...when did you notice some of the others skills?" Jon asked after a minute or two of moving.

"...Right from the beginning, at least when we first fought Risen on the north road." She answers. "It's strange, I have no memory of who I am yet I know how to be a strategist. Know a the use of a sword, and cast spells as if it was second nature. Was I some kind of mercenary?"

"If you were, then you'd have a name for yourself," He mutters. "Possibly the snowed hair grand master or something..."

"Not sure if you're jesting, but grand master does a nice feeling to it." She does a small laugh before shaking her head. "But I'm far from such titles, though it is interesting you were able to keep up."

"Well, I have been using my sword for more then simple carry." He shrugged. "Had to survive somehow."

"Not what I meant," She rose an eyebrow. "You deduced what I was talking about even if I was a bit vague about it. And was able to provide a pair that can actually work, like you more or less understood the weakness and strengths of your fellow comrades. Such as with Lissa, you can either increase defense or offense capabilities depending on her partner. Or both."

"Hm..." Jon faked a cough. "True that I may have observed a bit much, but I'm just a simple soldier."

"Simple soldier?" She narrowed her eyes. "Is that how you see yourself? With what you just displayed? It's possible to be an officer with your skill in blade alone."

"...I was interested in things when I was child," Jon slowly says. "Back in my homeland, children and adults played games that involved strategy when commanding armies and other things. Even leading civilizations in war and peace against others, it sounds rather strange doesn't it?"

"Games that involved strategy when commanding armies and nations?" Robin somehow looked interested and a bit curious. "Children in your homeland played such things? For what purpose?"

"Mostly entertainment, but some tried to make it into something more." He shrugged. "I was one of those, was planning to join my homeland's...city guard so to say. But circumstances happened and I was unable to join."

"Circumstances?"

"I arrived in these lands..." He muttered as bitter memories surfaced. "Not of my own will."

"What was that? Apologies I couldn't hear you correctly."

"Never mind." The swordsman shook his head. "Why the sudden interest in my life?"

"Are we not comrades?"

"Yes, but why me?" He faked a chuckle. "Thinking of making me your apprentice or something?"

"...Well I could use someone to handle the paper work." She let out a mischievous smirk.

"Har har, funny jest."

"When did I say I was jesting?"

"Huh? Are you-"

"Jon! Robin!" Both turn to see Lissa running to them, Lon'qu was some distance behind.

"Lissa? What's wrong?" Robin asked as her amethyst colored eyes narrowed.

"It's horrible! It's been reported that Maribelle has been taken!"

"Taken!?" Jon yells, faking ignorance. "As in kidnapped or captured!?"

"Yes! By Pleagia! Chrom just told us a few minutes ago, he wants to talk to you right now!"

"Understood." Robin nodded as she motioned Jon to follow. "Let's go."

"Right." The swordsman nodded.

'So it's begun, after this...war will be declared and the assassination will take place.' He thought as he followed after the three. 'There everything will be set in motion. Once we succeed we'll have a better position, and as Nai wants potential influence she'll get it...with limitations of course. Plus with the recruitment of Suki, Midori, Jason, his wife Anna, and hopefully Edward and Donnel. Our chances of living will increase, whether it be Shepherds or us. Conditions will soon be met...'

'Heh, I almost sound like Nai.' He clenched his hands as thoughts turned to the troubadour. 'Don't worry Maribelle...we're coming for you.'

'Didn't spend seven years in this world to simply let people like you die. Not if I or my family have a say in it.'

* * *

**A/N: Thus the board is displayed and the pieces stand...the story will diverge from the path that was set. Let the games begin.**

**My apologies for the long delay...had a lot to do...plus the projects from classes demanded a lot of attention, especially that research paper. So many pages to write...**

**Anyway, as I'm trying to do a pattern, my other story will be updated next. Likely before the year is out...already have a quarter of the chapter done, some where in December it'll be finished.**

**As you'd might've guessed, read, review, or find a much better one. Really a lot out there that's better than the two stories I have so far.**

**Tis your choice.**

**-Raiden312**

**ALMOST FORGOT!**

**I credit and thank RoseWarden's assistance for the nicknames of Trixie, Sketch, Goldie, and Pops. Without RoseWarden's help, I'd most likely have picked much blander and definitely horrible nicknames. **

**Once again thank you for the assistance. **

* * *

**OnesidedBias: Thanks, hope I don't disappoint.**

**RoseWarden: Yes, Leon has finally made some progress...small progress but a start.**

**Leon's idea on the backstory is decent...if it's true. Interesting questions though, we'll see the potential path this story will take.**

**Hopefully Nai's plan is executed right, otherwise the potential consequences will be...dire. **

**Interesting thought indeed...would say something...but might leave an accidental hint. **


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer: Do not own Fire Emblem, as it belongs to it's respected owner.**

**Important announcement in A/N, recommend reading.**

* * *

Nai yawned as she she watched the moon in all of it's glory. Wishing for the comforts of her warm bed, she wrapped herself further into her blanket. She was tempted to use magic to keep herself warm. Though the risk of some one spotting a suspicious fire light was high.

Especially if it's from the top of an 'abandoned' church/old smuggling warehouse.

_Technically_ their home is owned by Jason's wife Anna. Who had _supposedly_ won it in a high stakes gambling tournament five years ago, from some foolish noble. Sometime after she had encountered Jason, of course the couple decline to tell the full tale. Which made the Scribe Enchanter initially suspicious of the two.

But overtime she grew to trust them, as they would put it, she warmed up to them, somewhat.

Still so strange, all of them had awakened in various parts of this world. Yet it was solely in the continent they were standing in, none had waken anyway near Valm, or the other nations to the west. Of course, Edward had awakened in Plegia of all places, had unfortunate encounters with rotten filth then met someone unexpected.

A person he now just refers to as 'Bastard' as well as other unmentionable names. Like the familiar couple, he declined to give the full story. Just only the important information but nothing else in his time in that desert nation. Earned her suspicion then later her trust.

Nai rested her head in her palms as she couldn't help but think of the others.

Suki and Midori had the unique event of them awakening together. They had shared their story in full, unlike the others including herself. In the early years, the two were dependent on each other, physically and mentally. Yet as time passed, the two began to change and were able to be independent of each other. Though Midori saw Suki as a sibling, and 'adopted' her.

Jon, was an interesting case, as he has been in this world longer than any of them. Seven complete years, he had mentioned he was seventeen when he had awakened. Seven years before the events of this world would happen. From some of the stories he willingly shared, he had to do whatever he had to survive. Then somewhere along the way he encountered Jason by chance...

As the saying goes, the rest is history...

Then there was herself, just another generic beginning for a tragi-

She shook her head, knowing her mood will turn sour if she even thinks about those early years her time here. She cut ties to that place and left it to burn, even if it did greatly benefited her use of magic.

But that was in the past, as well as in a pile of ash.

"Nai? Out here again?" She sees Midori climbing the roof before sitting next to her.

"Waiting for a message from our friend," She gripped the blanket more, attempting to further warm herself. "At least if it shows up tonight. Been waiting for quite while now..."

"Yeah, last one was a couple of weeks ago." The battlemage adjusted her glasses. "Wonder if Maribelle has been rescued yet?"

"Word hasn't spread if Ylisse and Plegia are at war." Nai shook her head. "Only of their army being too close to bordering villages, nothing else yet."

"Makes ya miss the news back home huh?" Midori stretched her arms. "Learning everything as it happens."

"You just miss your smart screen and holo-touch."

"Nah, hardly used it, only for school."

"...Suki's little project is finished." The Scribe Enchanter decided to change the topic. "The materials she obtained while few were enough to finish the core components."

"The old models worked fine though."

"Yes, but you're as a perfectionist as she is. Though she could've used my enchantments then work on my other project."

_"That_ thing? You and I both know that shouldn't be used here. This world isn't ready for that kind of tech, even it's basic and enchanted like hell."

"Hm," A smirk appeared on Nai's lips. "Yes, but it would give us an advantage against _them,_ and with certain _'new'_ military tactics, Yilsse would dominate battlefields. While creating a chance for a new age in this world."

"Suki _might_ be willing to build it, but I doubt_ Chrom_ would allow it to be used. If he actually knew the consequences of it, besides if the Grimleal even manages to-"

"I know the possibilities," She cuts Midori off. "Yet as we are now, even with the eventual resources, and allies we _might_ gain. We'll _always_ be at a disadvantage, even with the knowledge we have, we still know so little of the main threat, and this is something none have faced before. Not without living thousands of years..."

"And potentially making the humanity in this world gain a new age in bloodshed would be a better alternative?" Midori narrowed her eyes at her fellow mage then sighed. "I know you mean well, but there has to be better options."

'If there were then we'd would've taken them.' Nai was going to say but held her tongue, knowing better than to start a pointless argument. 'Yet, like the rest, she's hesitant but not entirely opposed to it. If by chance, we do need it, then we'll be truly desperate.'

'And I'd likely had sold what was left of my soul...'

A few minutes of silence had passed, not tense, it was more like both sides had back off on the topic for now.

"How's your armor?" The battlemage finally asks, breaking the silence. "Jace's is finished, Anna has hers, and Suki's good."

"Been completed for awhile now," Nai answers. "Hinders my movement a little bit but functional nonetheless. Plus the helmet is intimidating, even if parts of my face are exposed."

"At least you have a helmet, I still got nothing cause of these." The ravenette motioned to her glasses before adjusting to them. "Suki's hasn't come up with something yet, not even a glass visor."

"Yes, cause of the risk of it shattering completely in combat, I remember." The scarlet haired woman nodded. "And risking permanent loss of sight."

"Which would suck, gonna have to keep my head down while using my scythe."

"Easy enough with that large blade of yours. I still don't understand why you use one of the most dangerous weapons created that limits you severely. Can't because of your namesake."

"Heh, I may be a Dedmaster but that's not the reason why."

"Oh, then what is?"

"That's a secret..." Midori winks at her before yawning. "Well, don't know about you but my bed is calling. Night Nai."

"Goodnight, Midori." Nai watched her climb back down before looking back up at the night sky. Mildly annoyed that she'll be there for a little longer before she loses her patience then leaves for the warm embrace of sleep.

Their conversation wasn't too bad, despite their supposed dislike for each other there is a hint of respect. Though the dislike is one sided as she loves to tease and rile up the battlemage from time to time. There was an enjoyable feeling from that one's frustrations...

"Caw!"

Looking down, she sees a familiar crow, one that Jon uses when he contacts his 'family'.

"Hello Little Yato," She greets as she holds out her arm, letting the arrival land. "Finally made it?"

"Caw!" Little Yato flapped it's wings before allowing her to take the message.

"Little Mao isn't here," She says as the crow flaps it's wings and rises in the air. "So you'll be alone for awhile, but you'll get extra food."

The crow cawed one more time before it flies, away from her and straight toward the Royal Palace.

She was surprised for a second before opening the message.

_Nai, knew you'd be on roof, likely one to get message, addressing this to you. If not Nai, then get her and everyone together, read this out loud. Badly wrote cause we moving fast and Frederick watching, please bare it._

_Plegia and Ylisse officially at war, we got Maribelle, she's safe. Avoided Plegian army with some minor fights. On our way back, few days till arrival, make sure everyone is prepared._

_Meet in past talked location, Lil' Yato will tell when, will sneak you in._

_-Jon_

"Heh, it's finally time." Nai's hands burst into flames, quickly destroying the message and it's cringe worthy sentences and penmanship.

She stood up and made her way back inside the building.

"All tasks at hand are complete, now it's time to see if our labors will bear fruit." A devious smile forming on her lips.

* * *

"Come on Donnel don't hesitate! Watch his movements and counter."

Oh fuck you Edward!

I let out an uneasy breath as I held out my wooden blade in a reverse grip, Donnel was in front of me taking an offensive stance.

We both charge at each other then exchange slashes, I parry one before thrusting. Donny dodges it as slashes at my arm, hitting it successfully as I pull back from him.

"Dammit," I muttered as I normalize my grip, pointing the blade at Donnel. "Been a couple weeks and he's already advanced this much." That or I suck that badly...

It's been a couple of weeks since we left that village, and my plan hasn't been going well. While I've gain minor injury at times it isn't enough to force Lucina to heal me. Edward, Donnel actually make sure that they don't try to hurt me too much, just minor bruising. Lucina been her usual self, though her kicks have been less painful, either she holding back or I've grown in tolerance.

Donnel comes at me forcing me to dodge several strikes then block one. I move to kick him in the stomach, but he pushes me back then stabs at me.

Trying to block it, I raise my blade directing his weapon upward, straight towards my face.

Before either of us could react, the wooden blade makes contact with my nose, breaking it.

**Crack!**

"Ah!" I screamed as I stumble back, intense pain was burning at my face as blood drew from my nose.

"Leon!" Donnel screamed my name as he dropped his weapon and helps keep my head up. I try to stay still and not bite my tongue in pain.

I hear Edward sigh, "If blocking leads to greater injury then dodge or take the hit. Or move to limit possible damage."

"...You're not going to help him?" Lucina asks as Donny helped me sit down while keeping my head up. The blood at this point was traveling over my mouth and going over my chin.

"Naw, would be a waste of a Concoction. Besides you've seen it too haven't you."

"...I have."

"Warned you and now I'll warn him, cause my patience is running thin. Leon, you've been rather reckless in training this past couple of weeks." He says as the pain continued to burn. "You tried to hide it, but it was too obvious. You attempt to block when you can dodge, allow hits to connect when you can parry or counter. Forcing me to hold back more then I do with Donny. Hell, you've taken kicks to the stomach from Marth to the point where I thought you were some kind of masochist."

"As a result, your skills are shit, and Donnel is getting better while you're slowly becoming worse. Don't know why you're doing this, and truth be told I give less of a shit. However..."

Donnel moves away as my forehead is grabbed, forcing me to look at Edward. The blood from my nose flowed faster, as the pain grew worse.

"I will say this once since for your's and Donnel's sake," He narrowed his eyes at me as the pressure from his hand grew. "If you have any ounce of self worth or care for those around you. Then don't pull crap like this again. Else you'll be a danger to yourself and the rest of us. You'll be dead or worse get someone else killed because of your own incompetence. Then find yourself as a lonely piece of shit with three feet of steel embedded in your heart."

He reaches then forces my nose straight and pushes me to the ground as I screamed in pain.

"Make sure he drinks this," Something lands on my stomach. "And clean his nose with the cloth. Don't want any predators or Risen picking up his stench, Donny we're going on ahead. Need to step up your training."

"R-right!" Was all I hear Donnel say.

I was left for a minute or two of looking up at the sky in pain, barely able to move.

Dammit...he's...he's right.

"...What am I to do with you?" I barely hear Lucina mutter as she comes in and helps me up.

"Head straight up, and drink this." I follow her instructions as I feel the ends of a bottle touching my lips.

"I...deserved that..." I weakly groaned as the pain subsided a bit and the blood stopped flowing, shaking my head.

Lucina said nothing as she stared at me with that damn mask. She was holding out a piece of cloth...

I sighed as I take the cloth and gently wiped the blood off my face.

"Leon," The princess slowly speaks. "Why have you been acting strangely recently?"

"I've...been an idiot." I state as I rubbed my forehead.

* * *

**A/N: Seriously short chapter due to one thing. Myself...pretty much it.**

**In honesty, I haven't been able to write much for this fic in awhile. Due to a serious of writer blocks and the fact that I actually didn't plan this story out carefully. ****I literally scrapped together what can be _barely _be considered a plot and posted it without much thought or revision. Then added things along the way without an actual solid foundation.**

**Then pretty much forgot then wasted the really good advise and time that was given from another author, when I was first thought of this fic.**

**As a consequence, this story has suffered greatly due to my own foolishness and shortcomings. **

**With a series of plot holes that haven't been addressed, characters not well done and can be flat, at times introduced into the story _way_ too quickly and needlessly. Skipped some needed development on the main protagonist and have an inconsistent thought process. Development and events happening 'off screen' when it was originally intended to actually show what happened, example being Jon, he was supposed to have a big role in this.**

**A ****bunch of other problems that be too much to list...like twenty pages worth, being completely serious on that.**

**The point is, I seriously need to come up with a better plan and fix the heck out of this fic. ****I don't want to drop this and disappoint those that actually took the time to read and like this. I need to improve what I thought off and actually place an actual foundation.**

**So for now, this fic will be on hiatus for an unknown amount of time. Which _isn't_ going to be years, as I've seen other fics do that and never update again.**

**It'll likely be revised from the first chapter to now, or rewritten if I can't use what is left. **

**I apologize to those that genuinely enjoyed this and are disappointed. **

**I need to learn from my mistakes and improve with what little experience I've gained in my time writing on this site.**

**Thank you...everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, or even just read this. Thank you for sticking around for this long, it really did mean a lot.**

**-Raiden312**

**PS: In case anyone were to wonder, my other fic is an entirely separate thing. I actually took the time to plan that one out, unlike this one, which in hindsight explains the current situation. I don't intend the same fate to happen to that one.**


	29. Chapter 29

The remake of this story, hopefully in a little while should be posted.

I hope it'll be a better outcome than what has occurred with this one.

The story name is simple, and kinda _unimaginative_ yet I_ **did** _put some thought to it_._

It's simply known as, Lost RE. And it'll have the first two chapters.

As for this one, I'll keep it up as a reminder and a comparison of how the story flows.

Anyway, this all I can say in this rather short note.

Now it is your choice to read this new version.

On to the Next.

-Raiden312


End file.
